Bounties of the Gracious God — Page 61
Our Beliefs in Brief 61 with John and concluded it with the Son of Mary, so that this phe- nomenon relating to the miraculous births should proceed from the lesser to the greater. The reason why Jesus and John had this kind of birth was that Allah wanted to show a great sign through their creation. Since the Jews had forsaken the path of moderation, and wickedness had seeped into their actions, words and morals, and their hearts had become completely corrupt; they persecuted the prophets and killed innocent people unjustly merely out of opposition. They crossed every limit in their transgression, mis- chief-making and persecution, and were unwary of being held accountable by the Lord of Mankind. Thus Allah saw that their hearts had become darkened and their dispositions had turned harsh, that the night had spread and paths had become dark, that their beliefs had become so corrupt that they had become like a stygian night or an unidentifiable passage. They crossed all limits, forgot their Creator, and leaped over all barriers. They forgot the Master of the Day of Judgment and became such that they lost the light that might have saved them from sin and shown them the right path and corrected their deeds. They became like the leper who has lost his limbs and whose face has been disfigured. When their condition reached this state, Allah pronounced dam- nation upon them and became wroth on those mischief makers and decided to take away the favour of prophethood from their progeny and to smite them with wretchedness and to take away from them this sign of honour, for had prophethood remained in their progeny it would have been a sufficient honour for them and it would not have been possible to associate them with dis- grace. And had Allah ended the chain of prophethood with Jesus, then obviously the pride of the Jews would not have diminished.