Class 10 – Prophet Uzair and Isa A.S.

Class 10

Prophet Uzair & Isa A.S.

PROPHET UZAIR (Ezra)

Uzair Sleeps For 100 Years

Ishaaq Ibn Bishr reported, on the authority of Ibn’ Abbas and others, that Uzair was a saint and a wise man. He went out one day to his own farm, as was his custom. About noon he came to a deserted, ruined place and felt the heat. He entered the ruined town and dismounted his donkey, taking figs and grapes in his basket. He went under the shade of the khaiba tree and ate his food. Then he got up to look at what remained of the ruins. The people had long been lost, and he saw bones. Oh! How will Allah ever bring it to life after its death?(2:259)

He said this not out of doubt but out of curiosity. Allah sent the Angel of Death to take his life. He remained dead for one hundred years.After one hundred years had passed and there had been changes in Israelite affairs, Allah sent an angel upon Uzair to revive his heart and his eyes in order for him to feel and see how Allah revives the dead. The angel said: “For how long did you sleep?” He said: “A day or part of a day.” He said this because he knew he had slept early in the afternoon and woke up late in the afternoon. The angel said: “You remained asleep for one hundred years.” He ate and drank the food which he had prepared before he was overtaken by that long sleep. Then the angel revived his donkey.

Almighty Allah said: And look at your donkey! Thus We have made of you a sign for the people. Look at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh.” When this was clearly shown to him he said: “I know now that Allah is able to do all things.” (Ch 2:259)

Uzair Returns Home

He rode on his donkey and entered his native place, but the people did not recognize him, nor did his household, except the maid, now an old woman. He asked her: “Is this the house of Uzair?” She said: “Yes, but the people have long forgotten Uzair.” He said: “I am Uzair, Allah had taken my life for a one hundred years and has now returned it to me.” She said: “Uzair used to be answered when he prayed to Allah. Pray to cure me of blindness if you are Uzair.” He prayed for her and massaged her eyes and took her by the hand. “Get up by the power of Allah,” he said. The crippled woman stood up and walked; she opened her eyes and saw; her blindness was gone. She said: “I bear witness that you are Uzair.”

Lesson

Allah grants life and death whenever he wishes and it is very easy for him to rise them from the dead.

Urdu Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPu…

PROPHET ISA (Jesus)

Maryam’s (Mary) Birth

Prophet Zakariyah’s (pbuh) wife’s sister had a daughter named Hannah. She was married to Imran, a leader of the Israelites. She was childless but believed that one day Allah would bless her with a child. She prayed that she would offer the child in the service of Allah’s house, in the temple of Jerusalem. Allah answered and she gave birth to a girl, and again turned to Allah in prayer: “O my Lord, I have delivered a female child,” and the male is not like the female, and I have named her Maryam, and I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and her offspring from Satan, the outcast.” (3:36)

Lesson

Dua is a very powerful tool and Allah can grant his blessings to anyone he wishes at the allotted time.

Maryam’s High Status

Maryam’s father passed away before her birth and thus her uncle, Zakariyah became her guardian. He built a separate room for Maryam in the temple.

As she grew up, she spent her time in devotion to Allah. Zakariyah visited her daily to see to her needs, and so it continued for many years. One day, he was surprised to find fresh fruit, which was out of season in her room. As he was the only person who could enter her room, he asked her how the fruit got there. She replied that these provisions were from Allah, as He gives to whom He wills. Zakariyah understood by this that Allah had raised Maryam’s status above that of other women.

Thereafter, Zakariyah spent more time with her, teaching and guiding her. Maryam grew to be a devotee of Allah, glorifying Him day and night.

Ali Ibn Abi Talib narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “The best of the world’s women is Maryam (in her lifetime), and the best of the world’s women is Khadija (in her lifetime).” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Maryam Receives News of Isa

While Maryam was praying in her temple, an angel in the form of a man appeared before her. Filled with terror, she tried to flee, praying:Verily! I seek refuge with the Most Beneficent (Allah) from you, if you do fear Allah.” The angel said: “I am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son.” She said: “How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?” He said: “So (it will be), your Lord said: “That is easy for me (Allah): And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (Allah), and it is a matter (already) decreed, (by Allah).‘” (19:18-21)

Lesson

Nothing is impossible for Allah. He can bless us in ways we cannot imagine.

The Birth of Isa

The angel’s visit caused Maryam great anxiety, which increased as the months went by. How could she face giving birth to a child without having a husband? With a heavy heart, she left the temple.

She had not gone far, when she was overtaken by the pains of childbirth. She saw down against a dry palm tree, and here she gave birth to a son. Looking at her beautiful baby, she was hurt that she had brought him into the world without a father. She exclaimed: “I wish I had died before this happened and had vanished into nothingness!”

Suddenly, she heard a voice nearby: “Grieve not, your Lord has placed a rivulet below, and shake the trunk of this tree, from which ripe dates will fall. So eat and drink and regain the strength you have lost; and be of good cheer, for what you see is the power of Allah, Who made the dry palm tree regain life, in order to provide food for you.” For a while she was comforted by Allah’s miracle, for it was a sure sign of her innocence and purity.

Lesson

Eating dates and drinking water during childbirth is the advice given to Maryam from Allah himself. We should also pay heed to that advice to ease labour.

Maryam Returns to the City with Isa

Maryam decided to return to the city. What was she going to tell the people? The baby began to speak: “If you meet any person say: ‘I have vowed to fast for The Beneficent and may not speak to any human today.'” With this miracle, Maryam felt at ease.

As she had expected, her arrival in the city with a newborn baby in her arms aroused the curiosity of the people. They scolded her: “This is a terrible sin that you have committed.” She put her finger to her lips and pointed to the child. They asked: “How can we speak to a newborn baby?” To their total amazement, the child began to speak clearly: “I am Allah’s servant. Allah has given me the Book, and has made me a prophet, and has blessed me wherever I may be, and has enjoined on me prayers and alms-giving as long as I live. Allah has made me dutiful towards she who had borne me. He has not made me arrogant nor unblessed. Peace unto me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive.” Most of the people realized that the baby was unique, for it Allah wills something, He merely says “Be” and it happens. Of course, there were some who regarded the baby’s speech as a strange trick, but at least Maryam could now stay in Nazareth without being harassed.

Isa Upsets the Jews

The Jewish priests felt this child Isa was dangerous, for they felt that the people would turn their worship to Allah the Almighty Alone, displacing the existing Jewish tenets. Consequently, they would lose their authority over the people. Therefore, they kept the miracle of Isa’s speech in infancy as a secret and accused Maryam of a great misdeed.

Isa Does Not Observe the Sabbath

Isa grew up to manhood. It was Sabbath, a day of complete rest: no fire could be lit or extinguished nor could females plait their hair. Moses (pbuh) had commanded that Saturday be dedicated to the worship of Allah. However, the wisdom behind the Sabbath and its spirit had gone, and only the letter remained in the Jews’ hearts. Also, they thought that Sabbath was kept in heaven, and that the People of Israel had been chosen by Allah only to observe the Sabbath.

They made a hundred things unlawful on Saturday even self-defense or calling a doctor to save a patient who was in bad condition. This is how their life was branded by such hypocrisy. Although the Pharisees were guardians of the law, they were ready to sell it when their interests were involved so as to obtain personal gains. There was, for example, a rule which prohibited a journey of more than one thousand yards on the Sabbath day. What do we expect of the Pharisees in this case? The day before, they transferred their food and drink from their homes two thousand yards away and erected a temporary house so that from they could travel a further thousand yards on the Sabbath day.

Isa was on his way to the temple. Although it was the Sabbath, he reached out his hand to pick two pieces of fruit to feed a hungry child. This was considered to be a violation of the Sabbath law. He made a fire for the old women to keep themselves warm from the freezing air. Another violation. He went to the temple and looked around. There were twenty thousand Jewish priests registered there who earned their living from the temple. The rooms of the temple were full of them.

Isa Receives His Prophethood

Isa observed that the visitors were much fewer than the priests. Yet the temple was full of sheep and doves which were sold to the people to be offered as sacrifices. Every step in the temple cost the visitor money. They worshipped nothing but money. In the temple, the Pharisees and Sadducees acted as if it were a market place, and these two groups always disagreed on everything. Isa followed the scene with his eyes and observed that the poor people who could not afford the price of the sheep or dove were swept away like flies by the Pharisees and Saducees. Isa was astonished. Why did the priests burn a lot of offerings inside the temple, while thousands of poor people were hungry outside it?

On this blessed night, the two noble prophets John (pbuh) and Zakariyah (pbuh) died, killed by the ruling authority. On the same night, the revelation descended upon Isa (pbuh). Allah the Exalted commanded him to begin his call to the children of Israel. To Isa, the life of ease was closed, and the page of worship and struggled was opened.

Lesson

What Isa denounced 2000 years is happening in the so called “shrines”. It is nothing but a money making business in which ignorant Muslims spend hundreds of thousands every year travelling, donating and festivities.

Isa’s Message

Like an opposing force, the message of Isa came to denounce the practices of the Pharisees and to reinforce the Law of Moses. In the face of a materialistic age of luxury and worship of gold, Isa called his people to a nobler life by word and deed. Isa continued inviting the people to Almighty Allah. His call was based on the principle that there is no mediation between the Creator and His creatures.

Jewish Priests Try to Embarrass Isa

His teaching annoyed the priests, for every word of Isa was a threat to them and their position, exposing their misdeeds. The priests started to plot against Isa. They wanted to embarrass him and to prove that he had come to destroy the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law provides that an adulteress be stoned to death. They brought him a Jewish adulteress and asked Isa: “Does not the law stipulate the stoning of the adulteress?” Isa answered: “Yes.” They said: “This woman is an adulteress.” Isa looked at the woman and then at the priests. He knew that they were more sinful than she. They agreed that she should be killed according to Mosaic Law, and they understood that if he was going to apply Mosaic Law, he would be destroying his own rules of forgiveness and mercy. Isa understood their plan. He smiled and assented: “Whoever among you is sinless can stone her.” His voice rose in the middle of the Temple, making a new law on adultery, for the sinless to judge sin. There was none eligible; no mortal can judge sin, only Allah the Most Merciful.

As Isa left the temple, the woman followed him. She took out a bottle of perfume from her garments, knelt before his feet and washed them with perfume and tears, and then dried his feet with her hair. Isa turned to the woman and told her to stand up, adding: “O Lord, forgive her sins.” He let the priests understand that those who call people to Almighty Allah are not executioners. His call was based on mercy for the people, the aim of all divine calls.

Lesson

Instead of judging other’s sins and prosecuting them for that, we should pay attention to our sins and seek repentance. Allah is the most forgiving and may forgive the sinner but not us for judging them.

Isa’ Brings the Dead to Life

Some Qur’anic commentators said that Isa brought four people back from the dead: a friend of his named Al-Azam, an old woman’s son, and a woman’s only daughter. These three had died during his lifetime. When the Jews saw this they said: “You only resurrect those who have died recently; perhaps they only fainted.” They asked him to bring back to life Sam the Ibn Noah. When he asked them to show him his grave, the people accompanied him there. Isa invoked Allah the Exalted to bring him back to life and behold, Sam the Ibn Noah came out from the grave gray-haired. Isa asked: “how did you get gray hair, when there was no aging in your time?” He answered: “O Spirit of Allah, I thought that the Day of Resurrection had come; from the fear of that day my hair turned gray.”

Allah Sends the Disciples a Feast

Isa continued calling people to Almighty Allah and laying down for them what might be called “the law of the Spirit.” Once when standing on a mountain surrounded by his disciples, Isa saw that those who believed in him were from among the poor, the wretched, and the downtrodden, and their number was small. Some of the miracles which Isa performed had been requested by his disciples, such as their wish for a “holy table” to be sent down from heaven.

Allah the Exalted said: “Remember when the disciples said: “O Isa, son of Maryam! Can your Lord send down to us a table spread (with food) from heaven?” Isa said: “Fear Allah, if you are indeed believers.” They said: “We wish to eat thereof and to be stronger in Faith and to know that you have indeed told us the truth and that we ourselves be its witnesses.” Isa, son of Maryam, said: “O Allah, our Lord! Send us from heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us – for the first and the last of us – a festival and a sign from You; and provide us sustenance, for You are the best of sustainers.” Allah said: “I am going to send it down unto you, but if any of you after that disbelieves, then I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among all the Alamin (mankind and jinn).

Those Worshipping Isa and Allah’s Questions to Isa

The Day of the Table became one of the holy days for the disciples and followers of Isa. Later on, the disciples and followers forgot the real essence of the miracles, and so they worshipped Isa as a god. Almighty Allah asserted: And remember when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): “O Isa, son of Maryam! Did you say unto men: ‘Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?'” He will say: “Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to say. Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All Knower of all that is hidden and unseen. Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord’, And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians of the whole world). If you punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, Verily You, only You are the All Mighty, the All Wise.” Allah will say: “This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) – they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise). To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein, and He is Able to do all things.” (5:116-120)

The Jews Plot to Kill Isa

When the Jews failed to stop Isa’ s call, they decided to kill him. The chief priests held secret meetings to agree on the best way of getting rid of Isa. The priests had no authority to pass the death sentence at that time, so they convinced the Roman governor that Isa was plotting against the security of the Roman Empire and urged him to take immediate action against him. The governor ordered that Isa be arrested.

Isa’s Crucifixion – Quranic

The Glorious Qur’an affirms that Allah the Exalted did not permit the people of Israel to kill Isa or crucify him. What happened was that Allah saved him from his enemies and raised him to heaven. They never killed Isa, they killed someone else.

Allah the Almighty declared: And because of their saying (in boast), “We killed Messiah Isa, son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah,” but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of Isa was put over another man (and they killed that man) and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no certain knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not (Isa, son of Maryam): But Allah raised him (Isa) up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allah is Ever All Powerful, All Wise.

And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews & Christians), but must believe in him (Isa, son of Maryam, as only a Messenger of Allah, and a human being0, before his (Isa or a Jew’s or a Christian’s ) death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death). And on the Day of Resurrection, he (Isa) will be a witness against them. (4:157-159)

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