Tafsir of Al Imran 3:59

More than one authority has stated that the delegation from Najran said to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him): "Why do you insult our companion?" He said: "What have I said?" They replied: "You say he is the servant of Allah." He said: "Indeed, he is the servant of Allah, His Messenger, and His Word which He cast to the Virgin, the Pure." They became angry and said: "Have you ever seen a human being born without a father? If you are truthful, show us someone like him." Thereupon, Allah the Almighty revealed this verse.

Al-Bayhaqi recorded in al-Dala’il, through the chain of Salama ibn ‘Abd Yasu’ from his father from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) wrote to the people of Najran before the revelation of the Surah beginning with (Ta-Sin-Mim) [i.e., Surah al-Naml]: "In the name of the God of Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Ya’qub. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to the Bishop of Najran and the people of Najran: If you accept Islam, I praise Allah to you, the God of Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Ya’qub. To proceed: I call you to the worship of Allah away from the worship of His servants, and I call you to the dominion of Allah away from the dominion of His servants. If you refuse, then [pay] the Jizya; if you refuse that, then you have declared war. Peace."

When the Bishop read the letter, he was greatly distressed and gripped by severe fear. He sent for a man from the people of Najran named Shurahbil ibn Wada’ah and handed him the Messenger’s letter. Shurahbil read it, and the Bishop asked him: "What is your opinion?" Shurahbil replied: "You know what Allah promised Ibrahim regarding the progeny of Isma’il in terms of prophethood. Who is to say that this man is not the Prophet? I have no opinion on the matter of prophethood; had this been a worldly matter, I would have advised you and exerted myself for you." The Bishop then sent one person after another from the people of Najran, and they all said what Shurahbil had said. They reached a consensus to send Shurahbil, ‘Abdullah ibn Shurahbil, and Hayyar ibn Qans to bring back word about the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him). The delegation departed until they reached the Messenger of Allah. He questioned them, and they questioned him, and the dialogue continued until they said: "What do you say about ‘Isa ibn Maryam?" The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) replied: "I have nothing to say about him today; stay until I am informed of what is to be said to me regarding ‘Isa in the morning." Then Allah revealed this verse: (Indeed, the likeness of ‘Isa) up to His saying: (And let us invoke the curse of Allah upon the liars).

They refused to affirm this. When the next morning came, after the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) had informed them of what was revealed, he came out wrapping al-Hasan and al-Husayn in a cloak, with Fatimah walking behind him, for the purpose of Mula’ana (mutual imprecation). He had several wives at that time. Shurahbil said to his companions: "I see a grave matter; if this man is truly a Messenger-Prophet and we engage in this imprecation, not a single hair or fingernail of us will remain on the face of the earth." They asked: "What is your opinion?" He said: "My opinion is to let him judge, for I see a man who would never judge unjustly." They said: "That is up to you." Shurahbil met the Messenger of Allah and said: "I have seen something better than engaging in imprecation with you." He asked: "And what is that?" He said: "Your judgment for us from today until tonight, and from your night until the morning; whatever you decide for us, it is accepted." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) returned and did not curse them, and he made a peace treaty with them on the condition of the Jizya. Other accounts of this have also been narrated, as will soon follow.

The term "likeness" (mathal) here is not the likeness used for comparison, with the kaf being redundant as some have claimed, but rather it means state and extraordinary quality. That is, the state of ‘Isa "in the sight of Allah"—meaning in His estimation and decree, or in what has been hidden from you and which you have not discovered—is like the state of Adam. The prepositional phrase relates to the same thing the preposition relates to in His saying: (Like the likeness of Adam), meaning: like his extraordinary state and condition, concerning which no doubter should harbor doubt.

(He created him from dust) is an initial sentence that has no place in grammatical inflection, explaining the aspect of the comparison, considering that in each there is an exit from the custom of nature and a lack of complete causes. It is also possible that it was brought to show that the one being compared is more strange and a greater breach of the norm, which makes it more decisive against the opponent and more effective in cutting off the roots of his suspicion. The (min) is for the beginning of the end, related to what it precedes, and the pronoun refers to Adam. The meaning is: He began the creation of his form from this substance, then said to him "Be," and he became—meaning "become a human," and he became. The sequence via "then" (thumma) is therefore temporal, as there was a long duration between the initiation of his form from what was mentioned and the creation of the soul within him and his transformation into flesh and blood. It has been narrated that after his form was created, he remained cast at the gates of Paradise for forty years without the soul being breathed into him.

The use of the imperfect tense (yakun), even though the context is in the past, is to depict that complete event in the image of something being witnessed, which is happening now, as an indication that it is among the strange and wondrous matters. It is also permitted that this expression is used because existence is future relative to what preceded it. Many investigators hold that "then" (thumma) denotes sequence in narration, not in the thing narrated, and they took the speech at its literal meaning. The precedence of the command ("Be") over the creation in this ordering and sequence does not invalidate this, as is not hidden. The genitive pronoun refers to what the object pronoun refers to; the claim that it refers to ‘Isa is groundless, as it would cause a fragmentation for which there is no necessity and for which no evidence exists.

It is said: In the verse is proof of the validity of reflection and reasoning, for He, Glory be to Him, argued against the Christians and established the permissibility of creating ‘Isa (peace be upon him) without a father by the creation of Adam (peace be upon him) without a father or a mother. Furthermore, the apparent meaning is that Allah, Glory be to Him, created ‘Isa (peace be upon him) from a drop of Maryam (peace be upon her), making it receptive and prepared for that, as we have indicated previously. The claim that he was created from air, just as Adam was created from dust, has no basis in reason or tradition. (And We breathed into him from Our Spirit) does not indicate that in any way at all.