Isa ibn Maryam (AS)

Maryam Bint ‘Imran — The Mother of the Prophet

The story of Isa (AS) cannot be told apart from the story of his mother, Sayyida Maryam bint ‘Imran (AS) — honored in the Quran in a manner accorded to no other woman. She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran. An entire surah — Surah Maryam (the 19th chapter) — bears her name. She is described as having been chosen by Allah above all the women of all the worlds:

“O Maryam, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of all the worlds.” (3:42)

Maryam’s father was ‘Imran, of the family of the prophets of Bani Isra’il. Her mother Hanna had dedicated her unborn child to the service of Allah in the Temple of Jerusalem — an extraordinary vow that she honored even when the child turned out to be a daughter, contrary to her expectation. Maryam grew up in the Temple under the guardianship of Nabi Zakariyya (AS), living a life of extraordinary devotion and receiving miraculous sustenance from Allah:

“Every time Zakariyya entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, ‘O Maryam, from where is this [coming] to you?’ She said, ‘It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.’” (3:37)

Out-of-season fruit. Provision without visible human source. The Temple chamber of Maryam was a space saturated with the divine’s direct presence. She was, in every sense, being prepared — though she did not yet know for what.

Her character — absolute devotion, profound modesty, unwavering trust — made her the fitting vessel for the most extraordinary event in the prophetic history of Bani Isra’il.

The Annunciation — The Spirit Appears

“And mention, [O Muhammad], in the Book [the story of] Maryam, when she withdrew from her family to a place toward the east. And she took in seclusion from them a screen. Then We sent to her Our spirit, and he appeared before her in the form of a well-proportioned man.” (19:16-17)

A figure appeared to Maryam in her place of seclusion. Beautiful in form. She — a woman of absolute moral integrity, alone — was terrified:

“She said, ‘Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, [so leave me], if you should be fearing of Allah.’” (19:18)

Her first response to the unknown figure was to invoke Allah and remind him of Allah — the instinct of the truly God-fearing. And the figure answered:

“He said, ‘I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you tidings of a pure boy.’” (19:19)

The angel Jibrail (AS) — who had brought revelation to the prophets — had come to Maryam. Not with a Shari’a. Not with a new law. With news. With the tidings of a child.

Maryam’s response is entirely human: “She said, ‘How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?’” (19:20) — She was not doubting the angel’s word; she was stating the natural impossibility as she understood it.

The answer: “He said, ‘Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.’” (19:21)

Qadha amrun maqdi’a — A matter already decreed. The child was already willed. Maryam’s consent was not being sought; her being informed. And the blowing of the divine spirit followed:

“And [mention] the one who guarded her chastity, so We blew into her [garment] through Our angel [Jibrail], and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient.” (66:12)

The Birth of Isa — The Palm Tree and the Miracle

Maryam withdrew from her people. The pangs of childbirth drove her to the base of a palm tree, where she gave birth alone. Her anguish — physical, emotional, and deeply concerned with how her people would understand an unexplained child — was complete:

“And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, ‘Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten.’” (19:23)

The divine responded immediately. A voice came — whether from the angel or from the newborn child himself, the commentators differ, but the message was divine:

“But [a voice] called her from below her: ‘Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you fresh, ripe dates. So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak to anyone today.’” (19:24-26)

Fresh dates appeared from a dry palm. A stream flowed beneath her. The divine’s care for Maryam in her moment of greatest vulnerability was precise and tender: shade, food, water, and a plan.

The Speaking Infant — The First Miracle

When Maryam returned to her people carrying the child, the accusations were immediate and harsh. Her people — knowing she had been a woman of exceptional piety — were now facing what appeared to be devastating evidence of moral failure:

“O Maryam, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented. O sister of Harun, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste.” (19:27-28)

Maryam simply pointed to the infant. The crowd’s reaction: “How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?” (19:29)

And then the infant spoke:

“[Isa] said, ‘Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive. And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.’” (19:30-33)

A newborn infant, speaking in complete sentences, declaring his prophethood, proclaiming his servitude to Allah, and reciting the same divine salutation that had been given to Yahya (AS): “Peace on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.”

This — the speech of Isa in the cradle — is the first of his great miracles, and in some ways the most decisive: it vindicated his mother completely. Maryam had not committed what her people suspected. The child’s own testimony, delivered before he was one day old, was the divine’s answer to human accusation.

His Name and Titles

Isa (AS) carries in the Quran several extraordinary titles, each revealing a different dimension of his being and mission:

Al-Masih (المَسِيح — the Messiah/Anointed One): “The Messiah, Isa, son of Mary, was a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul from Him.” (4:171) — The title emphasizes his unique divine appointment and anointing.

Kalimatullah (كَلِمَةُ اللَّه — Word of Allah): The same verse — “His word which He directed to Mary” — gives Isa this title. He is a kalimatun min Allah (4:171), a kalimatuh (3:45) — a word from and of Allah. In Islamic theology, this means not that he is divine but that he came into existence through Allah’s direct creative command (“Be — and he was”, 3:59), bypassing the ordinary human channels of creation. He is the direct expression of divine creative speech.

Ruhullah (رُوحُ اللَّه — Spirit/Soul from Allah): “A soul from Him” (4:171) — ruhu minhu. This title is understood in Islamic theology as indicating the divine origin and nature of the spirit placed in Isa — not that he is Allah’s spirit in a hypostatic union, but that his spirit was specially created and specially gifted by Allah.

Ibn Maryam (ابنُ مَريَم — Son of Mary): The Quran consistently identifies Isa through his mother — no father is named. This is both a statement of his miraculous birth and a persistent theological correction of Trinitarian claims.

‘Abd Allah (عَبدُ اللَّه — Servant of Allah): Isa’s own first words in the cradle — “I am the servant of Allah” (19:30) — establish this as his foundational self-identification. He was not the Lord. He was the Lord’s servant.

The Miracles of Isa (AS)

The Quran catalogues the miracles of Isa (AS) explicitly — and crucially, always with the qualifying phrase bi-idhni Allah (by the permission of Allah), making clear that the miracles were divine acts through the prophet, not the prophet’s own divine power:

“…when Allah will say: ‘O Isa, son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother when I supported you with the Holy Spirit and you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and [remember] when I taught you writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you designed from clay [what was] like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission…’” (5:110)

Speaking in the cradle: The first and most immediate miracle — the vindication of his mother (described above).

Creating birds from clay: He fashioned birds from clay, breathed into them, and they became real birds by Allah’s permission. The creating of life from material — a deliberate echo of Adam’s creation (“He created him from dust, then said to him: Be” — 3:59) — establishes the parallel: as Allah created Adam with a divine command, so Allah through Isa created birds with divine permission.

Healing the blind and the leper: He restored sight to those born blind and cured those afflicted with leprosy — diseases understood in the ancient world as markers of divine disfavor, which Isa (AS) reversed by divine permission, demonstrating that Allah’s mercy was not bounded by the social judgments of the time.

Raising the dead: The most dramatic of the physical miracles — the dead raised to life by his prayer, by Allah’s permission. In the Quranic account (5:110) this is stated directly; in the traditions informed by earlier scripture (including al-Tabari’s accounts), this included the raising of individuals including the son of the Shunamite woman’s tradition continued through the prophetic line.

Telling what was hidden: “And I will inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.” (3:49) — He revealed what was hidden, another dimension of divine knowledge operating through the prophet.

The Table from Heaven — Ma’ida: The disciples asked Isa (AS): “O Isa, son of Mary, can your Lord send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven?” (5:112) — the request was granted, giving Surah 5 its name al-Ma’ida (The Table). A table of food descended from heaven. This miracle established the covenant between Isa and his disciples and became, in the Ismaili understanding, the type of the spiritual ma’ida — the table of ‘ilm spread by the Imam for the mu’minin.

The Mission — The Injil and the Children of Israel

Isa (AS) was sent specifically to the Children of Israel:

“And [he will be] a messenger to the Children of Israel [saying]: ‘Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah. And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead — by permission of Allah. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.’” (3:49)

He was not sent to all humanity — that was the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). He was sent as a prophet within the Bani Isra’il tradition, both confirming and fulfilling the Torah of Musa while bringing a new revelation — the Injil (Gospel):

“And We sent, following in their footsteps, Isa the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Injil, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.” (5:46)

The Injil that Allah gave Isa (AS) is not equated in Islamic understanding with the four Gospels of the New Testament as we have them today. It was a divine revelation given to the prophet — as the Torah was given to Musa and the Quran to Muhammad. What became of this original revelation, and to what extent the New Testament preserves it, is a matter of Islamic scholarly discussion. The Islamic position is that the authentic Injil exists in principle, but the scriptures available today contain mixtures of authentic material and later human additions.

One of Isa’s missions was also to announce the coming of a prophet after him:

“And [mention] when Isa, the son of Mary, said, ‘O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad.’” (61:6)

Ahmad — the same root as Muhammad, both derived from hamd (praise). This Quranic verse presents Isa as explicitly prophesying the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), fulfilling the prophetic chain.

The Question of the Crucifixion

The most theologically contested question in Muslim-Christian dialogue concerns the crucifixion. The Quran’s position is unambiguous:

“And [for] their saying, ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Isa, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.’ And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but it appeared so to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.” (4:157)

“Rather, Allah raised him to Himself.” (4:158)

The mainstream Islamic interpretation of these verses, accepted across virtually all schools:

Someone appeared to the accusers to be Isa but was not
Isa himself was not killed — a substitute was crucified in appearance
Isa was raised (rafi’a) to Allah — taken alive or in a manner beyond ordinary death

The identity of the substitute is a matter of scholarly discussion in the Islamic tradition. Some accounts (in the tafsir tradition) suggest it was one of the disciples who offered himself, others suggest it was one of his enemies who was divinely transformed in appearance. The Quran does not specify — only affirms the core point: the Messiah was not crucified.

The Islamic affirmation is not that nothing happened on that day in Jerusalem, nor that the crowds who witnessed the crucifixion were lying. It is that the person crucified was not, in fact, Isa ibn Maryam — though it appeared so to those present. “Wa lakin shubbiba lahum” — but it was made to appear so to them.

The Return of Isa — Nuzul Isa

One of the major signs of the approaching Last Hour is the descent (nuzul) of Isa ibn Maryam from the heavens to the earth. The hadith tradition (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and others) describes this event in consistent terms:

Isa (AS) will descend near Damascus, wearing two garments dyed with saffron
He will descend at the time of Fajr prayer and pray behind the Mahdi
He will break the cross — the symbol of the Trinitarian misunderstanding of his mission
He will kill the Dajjal (Antichrist)
He will establish a period of justice and righteous rule
He will eventually die and be buried in Medina near the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

In the Bohra understanding, the nuzul Isa is a real eschatological event — the return of the prophet who was raised alive. It is also understood in ta’wil as the reappearance of the Imam (the zahur of Imam al-Tayyib AS) who will fill the earth with justice as it was filled with oppression — the Imam who has been in satr (occultation) returning at the divine’s appointed time.

See also: Nuzul Isa, Al Mahdi, Imam Al Tayyib

Ruhullah and Kalimatullah — Theological Significance

Isa’s titles Ruhullah and Kalimatullah deserve careful treatment:

Kalimatullah (Word of Allah): The Quran says Allah conveyed to Maryam “a word from Him” (3:45). The Islamic understanding: Isa came into existence through Allah’s direct creative word — kun fa-yakun (Be, and it was) — without the ordinary intermediary of a human father. He is “the Word” in the sense that his existence is the direct expression of the divine creative command. This is not the Johannine Logos — a pre-eternal divine being — but the Quranic kalima — a divinely spoken creation.

Ruhullah (Spirit of Allah): “A soul from Him” (4:171) — ruhu minhu. This indicates the spirit breathed into Isa was of special divine character — as all human souls contain ruh (spirit) from Allah (15:29, 32:9), but Isa’s spirit was particularly close to the divine presence, particularly directly created. Hence: not any ordinary soul but one of a special, divinely close nature.

In the Ismaili cosmological framework, Isa’s title Ruhullah carries a precise meaning: he represents the manifestation of the Ruh al-Awwal (the First Spirit, corresponding to the First Intellect in the divine emanation) in the prophetic cycle. The First Intellect and the First Soul are the two highest principles in Ismaili cosmology; the Prophet represents the Intellect and the Imam (or Wasi) represents the Soul. Isa, as Ruhullah, embodies the Soul principle — the spiritual dimension of revelation — in his prophetic dispensation.

Maryam — The Exceptional Status

The honor accorded to Sayyida Maryam (AS) in the Quran is without parallel:

She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran
An entire surah (Surah Maryam, Ch. 19) bears her name
She is described as chosen above all women of all worlds (3:42)
She is ranked among the qanitin — the deeply devout (66:12)
She is listed alongside Asiya (wife of Pharaoh) as the greatest of women (from hadith tradition: Bukhari)

“And [the example of] Maryam, the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity, so We blew into [her garment] through Our angel, and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient.” (66:12)

Her exceptional qualities — absolute guardianship of her chastity, complete belief in the divine’s words, total devotion to the divine command — made her the vessel for the most miraculous birth in prophetic history. She was not a passive receptacle but an active participant in divine grace — her virtue, her devotion, her trust were the human conditions that Allah honored with the gift of Isa.

In the Ismaili understanding, Maryam occupies the position that in later periods is held by the umm al-imam (mother of the Imam) — the sacred woman whose purity and spiritual station provides the human vessel for the manifestation of divine guidance in the world.

Ismaili Ta’wil — Isa as the Natiq

In the Ismaili cyclical understanding of prophethood, history unfolds through a series of Natiq-s — Speaking Prophets who bring a new divine law (shari’a) and a new ta’wil (inner meaning). The six Natiq-s before the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) are: Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, and Muhammad (SAW) as the final and seventh.

Isa (AS) is the fifth Natiq in this cycle. His dispensation replaced the Mosaic law with the Gospel. The transition from Musa to Isa represents the movement from the legal-ceremonial emphasis of the Torah to the spiritual-interior emphasis of the Injil — from the zahir of commandments to the deeper batin of the heart.

In the Ismaili ta’wil of the prophetic cycles:

Musa represents the divine law given in its most detailed, ceremonial form (zahir)
Isa represents the spiritual deepening and interiorization of that law (batin of the Mosaic cycle)
The succession Musa → Isa → Muhammad (SAW) is a progression in which each Natiq builds upon and fulfills what came before

Isa’s virgin birth — his origin in the divine spirit rather than ordinary human parentage — is the ta’wil of the spiritual nature of his dispensation: a revelation that comes not through the ordinary channels but directly from the divine spiritual principle.

The disciples (hawariyyun) of Isa are the Ismaili type of the hudud (ranks) of the da’wa — those chosen by the prophet to carry his teaching and establish the foundation of the next prophetic cycle.

The Quranic Denial of Divinity

The Quran addresses the Christian claim of Isa’s divinity explicitly and repeatedly:

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary.’” (5:17)

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three.’” (5:73)

“The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; messengers before him had come and gone. His mother was a righteous person. They both ate food. Look how we make Our messages clear to them, yet how they turn away!” (5:75)

“The similitude of Isa before Allah is like the similitude of Adam — He created him from dust, then said to him: Be, and he was.” (3:59) — The virginal birth does not make Isa divine; Adam had no father or mother, yet no one claims Adam is divine.

The Quran also records the dramatic eschatological scene in which Isa will disavow the claim of his divinity:

“And when Allah will say: ‘O Isa, son of Mary, did you say to the people, Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?’ He will say: ‘Exalted are You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to say. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.’” (5:116)

Isa himself — on the Day of Judgment — will disclaim the claims made in his name.

Isa in the Bohra Heart

In the Bohra and broader Ismaili tradition, Nabi Isa (AS) is revered as one of the Ulu al-‘Azm — the Prophets of Resolute Purpose — who brought a complete divine dispensation, performed extraordinary miracles, and served as a link in the sacred chain leading from Adam to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

His story is taught in the context of the prophetic chain that culminates in the Prophet and continues through the Imams. His mission — of spiritual deepening, of the heart’s purification, of the batin behind the zahir — is understood as a preparation for the fullest revelation that came in the Quran and in the da’wa established through the Prophet and the Ahl al-Bayt.

The Bohra recitation of Quranic passages about Maryam and Isa — particularly Surah Maryam and the relevant passages of Al ‘Imran — is among the most beloved in congregational and home settings. The story of Maryam’s trust, Zakariyya’s du’a, Yahya’s birth, and Isa’s miracle in the cradle forms a single, continuous narrative arc of divine mercy and prophetic grace.

Salawat upon Isa

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى عِيسَى بنِ مَريَمَ رُوحِكَ وَكَلِمَتِكَ وَعَبدِكَ وَرَسُولِكَ، النَّبِيِّ الكَرِيمِ الَّذِي وُلِدَ مِنَ العَذرَاءِ الطَّاهِرَة

O Allah, send blessings upon Isa ibn Maryam — Your spirit and Your word and Your servant and Your messenger, the honored prophet born of the pure virgin.

وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيهِ يَومَ وُلِدَ وَيَومَ يَمُوتُ وَيَومَ يُبعَثُ حَيًّا

And peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he will die, and the day he is raised alive. (Quran 19:33)

Isa ibn Maryam (AS) — Ruhullah, Kalimatullah: The Prophet of the Spirit and the Injil