Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Chapter 43: Surah al-Zukhruf
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
(And when the son of Mary is quoted as an example…) [43:57].
Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim al-Nasrabadhi informed us> Isma‘il ibn Nujayd> Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-
Khalil> Hisham ibn ‘Ammar> al-Walid ibn Muslim> Shayban ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman> ‘Asim ibn Abi al-
Nujud> Abu Razin> Abu Yahya, the client of Ibn ‘Afra’> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “The Prophet, Allah bless
him and give him peace, said to the Quraysh: ‘O Quraysh, there is no good in anyone who is worshipped
beside Allah’. They said to him: ‘Do you not claim that Jesus was a Prophet and a righteous slave If what
you claim is true, he is like a deity to them’. As a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse (And
when the son of Mary is quoted as an example)”. 1 We have already mentioned this story and the debate of
Ibn al-Zib‘ara with the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, upon dealing with the
occasion of revelation of Allah’s saying (Lo! Ye (idolaters) and that which ye worship beside Allah are fuel
of hell…) [21:98].
1
Qurtubi, :103; Durr, :385.