The Rightly-Guided Injil

Section 19: The rich man, and the request of James and John

The Gospel According to Islam · Chapter 4, Preaching, Signs and the Disciples · Section 19

The rich man, and the request of James and John. 22 verses. With the Qur’an: 19:34-37; 4:170-173; 5:72-74; 5:72-73; 19:89-95.

19

1And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one man running, and he asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?1 2And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. 3Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not steel, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not; Honour thy father and mother. 4And he answered and said unto him, Teacher, all these things I observed from my youth. 5Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.

6And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 7And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven. 8And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into heaven. 9It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into heaven. 10And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

11And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible to enter heaven, except with the grace of God. 12Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 13And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for helping me in the way of God.2 14But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sister, and mothers, and children, and lands, and in the world to come eternal life.3

15And one day James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 16And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 17They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 18But Jesus said unto them, What if I am delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes and they condemn me to death?4 19And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

20But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, 21But so shall it not be among you: but whatsoever will be great among you, shall be your servant. 22And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be slave of all.5

Christians Differ on Jesus

19:34That is Jesus, son of Mary. And this is a word of truth, about which they dispute. 19:35It is not for God to take a son! Glory be to Him. When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, “Be!” And it is! 19:36Jesus also declared, “Surely God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him alone. This is the Straight Path.” 19:37Yet their various groups have differed among themselves about him, so woe to the disbelievers when they face a tremendous Day!6

Do Not Say Trinity

4:170O humanity! The Messenger has certainly come to you with the truth from your Lord, so believe for your own good. But if you disbelieve, then know that to God belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. And God is All-Knowing, All-Wise. 4:171O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes regarding your faith; say nothing about God except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of God and the fulfilment of His Word through Mary and a spirit created by a command from Him7. So believe in God and His messengers and do not say, “Trinity.” Stop!—for your own good. God is only One God. Glory be to Him! He is far above having a son! To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And God is sufficient as a Trustee of Affairs. 4:172The Messiah would never be too proud to be a servant of God, nor would the angels nearest to God. Those who are too proud and arrogant to worship Him will be brought before Him all together. 4:173As for those who believe and do good, He will reward them in full and increase them out of His grace. But those who are too proud and arrogant, He will subject them to a painful punishment. And besides God they will find no protector or helper.8

One God, Not Three

The Messiah himself said, “O Children of Israel! Worship God—my Lord and your Lord.” Whoever associates others with God in worship will surely be forbidden Paradise by God. Their home will be the Fire. And the wrongdoers will have no helpers. 5:725:73Those who say, “God is one in a Trinity,” have certainly fallen into disbelief. There is only One God. If they do not stop saying this, those who disbelieve among them will be afflicted with a painful punishment. 5:74Will they not turn to God in repentance and seek His forgiveness? And God is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger. Many messengers had come and gone before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They both ate food9. See how We make the signs clear to them, yet see how they are deluded from the truth! Say, O Prophet, “How can you worship besides God those who can neither harm nor benefit you? And God alone is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” Say, “O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes in your faith beyond the truth, nor follow the vain desires of those who went astray before you. They misled many and strayed from the Right Way.”10

Jesus Is Not God

Indeed, 5:725:73those who say, “God is the Messiah, son of Mary,” have fallen into disbelief. Say, O Prophet “Who has the power to prevent God if He chose to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, his mother, and everyone in the world all together?” To God alone belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and everything in between. He creates whatever He wills. And God is Most Capable of everything. The Jews and the Christians each say, “We are the children of God and His most beloved!” Say, O Prophet, “Why then does He punish you for your sins? No! You are only humans like others of His Own making. He forgives whoever He wills and punishes whoever He wills. To God alone belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and everything in between. And to Him is the final return.”11

God Is in No Need of Children

They12 say, “God has offspring13.” Glory be to Him! In fact, to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth—all are subject to His Will. He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth! You have no proof of this! Do you say about God what you do not know? Say, O Prophet, “Indeed, those who fabricate lies against God will never succeed.” 19:89You have certainly made an outrageous claim, 19:90by which the heavens are about to burst, the earth to split apart, and the mountains to crumble to pieces 19:91in protest of attributing children to the Most Compassionate. 19:92It does not befit the majesty of the Most Compassionate to have children. 19:93There is none in the heavens or the earth who will not return to the Most Compassionate in full submission. 19:94Indeed, He fully knows them and has counted them precisely. 19:95And each of them will return to Him on the Day of Judgment all alone.14

  1. Mark 10:17-30. ↩
  2. Cf. Qur’an 3:52. ↩
  3. This saying of Jesus, which Mark 10:30 “corrects” by the awkward addition of “with persecutions” (obviously in order to take account of the fact that Christians faced persecutions rather than hundredfold increase in possessions), promises a twofold reward to those who followed Jesus: one “now in this time” and one in “the world to come.” It is clear that the first refers to the messianic kingdom and the other to the heavenly existence after the end of history. The distinction made by Jesus between the two was also made by others (e.g., in the Book of Enoch—200-95 B.C.), but some tended to ignore it, as did the Christian tradition. ↩
  4. Mark 10:35-41. The request shows that the disciples expected a kingdom in this world. Jesus reminds them that the authorities may put him to death; the Qur’an records that they plotted to do so and that God delivered him (3:54-55; 4:157). The passion predictions of Mark (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34) foretell a death and a rising on the third day in the church’s later words; the narrative keeps only the warning. ↩
  5. Mark 10:41-44. ↩
  6. Qur’an 19:34-37. ↩
  7. Jesus was created by God’s Word “Be!” and he was, and life was breathed into Jesus by the holy spirit (the angel Gabriel) at the command of God. ↩
  8. Qur’an 4:170-173. ↩
  9. They were in need of food for nourishment. According to some scholars, this implies that Jesus and his mother had to relieve themselves after the food had been digested. Almighty God is far above depending on food or having to go to the restroom. ↩
  10. Qur’an 5:72-77. ↩
  11. Qur’an 5:17-18. ↩
  12. The Christians ↩
  13. Jesus in Christianity ↩
  14. Qur’an 2:116-117; 10:68-69; 19:88-95. ↩

← Section 18 · Contents · Section 20 →