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    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      What the Quran reveals about the birth of Jesus

      In Islam, Isa is Ruhullah or Spirit of God, but a Prophet.

      inBook and Publication
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      One of The most mentioned Prophet in the Quran, the holy book of the Muslims, is Jesus. He is mentioned by his Arabic name Isa or as ibn Maryam, son of Maryam, and as the masiha or messiah. In fact, Maryam or Virgin Mary is the only woman who is mentioned by name in the Quran. With Christmas round the corner, I’d like to revisit the story of his virgin birth, as given in the Quran.

      Maryam (the Arabic name of Mary) was born very late in life to her parents Hannah bint Faqudh and Imran. Hannah and Imran had been married for 50 years without having a child. One day, overcome by her maternal instincts after seeing a bird feeding a chick, Hannah once again prayed and vowed that if her husband and she were blessed with a child, she would dedicate him/her to the service of her Lord.

      Imran, her husband, was a priest at Bait-ul-Muqaddis (Temple of Solomon) in Jerusalem and he joined her in prayer. He had often been taunted that every righteous man had been blessed with a child save him. In despair, he left his house to go to the mountains to pray in solitude.

      While Hannah prayed in the garden, Imran prayed in the mountains and Allah was listening in the heavens; thus, she became pregnant.

      Unfortunately, Imran died before the pregnancy came to term and was not around to share the joy of his daughter’s birth. Hannah, crying tears of joy at her child’s birth and grieving that Imran was deprived of his joy, named the baby girl Maryam.

      As vowed, she wrapped the infant in swaddling clothes, took her to the temple and handed her over to the rabbis.

      ddaf_122217030727.jpg
      The Inn at Bethlehem Mughal; 1600-05. PC: Victoria and Albert Museum

      Zakariah (the Arabic name of Zachariah), the husband of Hannah’s sister, was chosen as her guardian after conducting a lottery: the family decided to go to the banks of River Jordan and throw the pens with which they wrote the Torah into its waters; whosoever’s pen stayed afloat would become Maryam’s guardian. Zakariah’s pen remained afloat, while the rest of them sank to the bottom.

      He was also the father of Yahya (the Arabic name of John the Baptist), who was to prepare the world for the coming of the messiah, Isa.

      In the temple, Maryam grew up to be a beautiful girl with a noble visage and pious disposition.

      When she attained puberty, Zakariah gave her a separate room in the temple where she continued practising her devotion to God. Whenever Zakariah would visit the room, he would find her with baskets of fresh fruits and food, some of the fruits being out of season.

      He asked her,“O Mary! Whence (comes) this to you?” She said: “From Allah. for Allah Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure.”

      Ali Ibn Abi Talib narrated that Prophet Muhammad said that the best of the world’s women were Maryam and Khadijah in their respective lifetimes. Indeed, Maryam was God’s chosen one and one day she found out why.

      gerard_122217030959.jpg
      Adoration of the shepherds; Artist: Gerard van Honthorst

      While praying, she was visited by an angel in the form of a man. Confused, she put up a screen between herself and the angel, and cried,“I seek refuge from thee to (Allah) Most Gracious: (come not near) if thou dost fear Allah.”

      The angel reassured her:“Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son.””O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee — chosen thee above the women of all nations.”

      “O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah.

      “He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous.”

      An overwhelmed Maryam replied,“O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?”

      He said: “Even so: Allah createth what He willeth: When He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it, ‘Be,’ and it is!”

      The angel further went on to describe the Prophethood of Jesus and that he would be an apostle to the Children of Israel.

      So far, Maryam’s life had been prayers and devotion to her Lord in a secluded corner of the temple. She had no worldly knowledge and could not quite comprehend what she had been told. Soon, she was pregnant.

      Having had no physical relationship with a man, she was mortified and had no idea how to explain it to the world. So she decided to retire to a remote place.

      Her first stop was her own birthplace Nazareth, but fearing the taunts and barbs of the people on an unmarried girl giving birth, Maryam withdrew to the hills of Bethlehem, to the east of Jerusalem, away from the gaze of her family and well-wishers.

      Maryam lived in the hills for the period of her pregnancy during which her Lord provided her sustenance. She was told by God to stay in seclusion and not talk to anybody.

      jeesus-690_122217031117.jpg
      It was her son who was the witness to the purity of her character.

      She lived here till the baby was born. Having never seen a baby being born, she had no idea of labour pains and cried out in anguish:

      And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She cried (in her anguish): “Ah! would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!”

      But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): “Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee;

      “And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.

      “So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man, say, ‘I have vowed a fast to ((Allah)) Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into not talk with any human being.'”

      At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: “O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought!”

      When the people of Nazareth taunted her at the birth of the baby, the infant spoke as prophesied by the angels.

      “I am indeed a servant of Allah. He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;

      “And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;

      “(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;

      “So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)”!

      Maryam decided to return to Jerusalem with the baby. The people of the city who knew her as a virtuous woman were shocked! She was accused of a grievous sin.

      “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!”

      Maryam stoically bore all the scolding and finger-pointing. Then, a finger on her lips, she pointed toward her newborn baby, who she knew had been given the gift of speaking in the cradle. It was her son who was the witness to the purity of her character.

      The townspeople said, “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?”

      To their astonishment, the newborn baby started speaking:

      “I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;

      And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;

      He hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;

      “So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again).”

      Such (was) Jesus the son of Maryam: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.

      The major difference between the Quran and the Bible and indeed Islam and Christianity are the lines:

      It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son.

      In Islam, Isa is Ruhullah or Spirit of God, but a Prophet.

      May Christmas be a time for celebration and peace on earth for everyone.

      Published in DailyO.in

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.