The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

38
The Quran
3: 46
be held in honour in this world and the next, who will be one of
those brought near to God. 46 He will speak to people in his infancy a
and in his adulthood. He will be one of the righteous.’ 47 She said,
‘My Lord, how can I have a son when no man has touched me?’
[The angel] said, ‘This is how God creates what He will: when He
has ordained something, He only says, “Be”, and it is. 48 He will
teach him the Scripture and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel,
49 He will send him as a messenger to the Children of Israel: “I have
come to you with a sign from your Lord: I will make the shape of a
bird for you out of clay, then breathe into it and, with God’s permission,
it will become a real bird; I will heal the blind and the leper, and
bring the dead back to life with God’s permission; I will tell you
what you may eat and what you may store up in your houses. b There
truly is a sign for you in this, if you are believers. 50 I have come to
confirm the truth of the Torah which preceded me, and to make
some things lawful to you which used to be forbidden. I have come to
you with a sign from your Lord. Be mindful of God, obey me: 51 God
is my Lord and your Lord, so serve Him – that is a straight path.”’
52 When Jesus realized they [still] did not believe, he said, ‘Who
will help me in God’s cause?’ The disciples said, ‘We will be God’s
helpers; we believe in God – witness our devotion to Him. 53 Lord,
we believe in what You have revealed and we follow the messenger:
record us among those who bear witness [to the Truth].’ 54 The
[disbelievers] schemed but God also schemed; God is the Best of
Schemers.
55 God said, ‘Jesus, I will take you back and raise you up to Me: I
will purify you of the disbelievers. To the Day of Resurrection I will
make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieved. Then
you will all return to Me and I will judge between you regarding
your differences. 56 I will make the disbelievers suffer severely in this
world and the next; no one will help them.’ 57 God will pay those who
believe and do good deeds their reward in full; God does not love
evildoers.
58 We relate to you [Muhammad] this revelation, a decisive statement.59
In God’s eyes Jesus is just like Adam: He created him from
a Cf. 19: 29–30. The word mahd means a place smoothed out for a small child to
sleep in. It is not a piece of furniture like a cradle.
b Another possible translation is ‘to tell you what you eat and what you store ...’.