The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page lxxvi
GENERAL INTRODUCTION Jesus himself could never have said such a thing. Nor could his disciples. It is certainly a fabrication of later times. But the superstitious thought is deepened further. We are told that Jesus asked the unclean spirit his name, and the spirit answered, "My name is Legion: for we are many. " That is to say, it was not one spirit but an army of them. We are told further that the spirits begged Jesus not to send them away out of the country. But Jesus did not agree, upon which the evil spirits begged him to send them into a herd of swine, that they might enter into them. To this Jesus readily agreed. The unclean spirits then went away and entered into the swine and the herd ran violently down a precipice into the sea. And in this way 2,000 of them were drowned. How superstitious and stupid does this passage seem! We are told that the evil spirits wanted leave to quit the body of man and to enter into the swine. A further question is: This herd of swine must have been somebody's property and what right did Jesus have to destroy another man's property? If it is said that the son of God had right over all manner of property, then the question is, why call God the God of love? If God as Master of everything can destroy things in the possession of ordinary human beings, then what law or order do we have in the world? And what evidence do we have for the beneficence of God? Besides this, there is another serious superstition taught in this passage. We are told that when the evil spirits entered into the swine, the swine ran over a steep into the sea. The question is, why this difference of behaviour? When the evil spirits entered a man, he did not hurl himself into the sea. But when they entered into a herd of 2,000 swine, they all ran into the sea and died. The whole passage is superstitious and stupid. Anybody who is convinced of the greatness and rationality of Jesus cannot attribute these things to him or to his disciples. He will have to conclude that such passages have been added to the New Testament account by later writers. (iii) It appears from the New Testament account that Jesus used to restore the dead to life. Thus in John (11:43-44) we read: And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Similarly in Matthew (27:51-53) we have: And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 1