“When she bore him, she isolated herself to a faraway place. The birth process came to her by the trunk of a palm tree. She said, (I am so ashamed;) I wish I were dead before this happened, and completely forgotten. (The infant) called her from beneath her, saying, do not grieve. Your Lord has provided you with a stream. If you shake the trunk of this palm tree, it will drop ripe dates for you.”
When reading this I was intrigued by a certain statement, “If you shake the trunk of this palm tree, it will drop ripe dates for you.” Middle Eastern dates ripen in early October, thus meaning Jesus was born around the month of October. This is completely different from the Christian beliefs (ignoring all the other differences). I read this passage literally; does anyone take this differently?
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I don't take this passage literally. I don't think it implies that it was date harvest season just because of the passage.
If God provided Mary with an immaculate conception, then I would only assume that he could provide her with fresh dates anytime, if that were his will. Also, in the passage she is given explicit instructions to "shake the tree towards [her]," perhaps this is also another indication that he provided her, and only her, with fresh dates if she did as he said... I'm picturing a date palm tree to be massive... And if taken literally, a woman, who had just given (painful) birth, to have such power to shake a massive palm tree seems extreme.
I think God provided Mary with water and dates to replenish her strength. He delivered a stream at her feet and dates at her head. Why dates? Perhaps because they are a common food/fruit in the area... she was exhausted, in need of energy, and dates are high in glucose providing her with a "sugar rush"...
Anyway, on the subject of Jesus not being born on December 25... I have heard many theories and disbeliefs from historians and others, that Jesus was born earlier than celebrated... I don't think it specifically states in the bible the exact day of his birth, but the season/day.. can be guessed.
I agree with the first comment. I did not take that part in the passage literally... I think it was just meant to show that God was providing her with food and water when she was in need of encouragement. I found the Sura of Mary very interesting as it differs greatly from the stories in the Bible. In the Bible, we do not see Mary exclaiming anything comparable to, "I wish I had been long dead and forgotten before all this!" We see that she has doubt when the angels give her the news and, for the most part, an acceptance of God's plan. The Sura seemed to be written in a more informal and everyday language.
I have to agree with the first two comments. I did not take the passage literally. I think that the story is more showing that God is providing Mary with what see needs. At the time she really needed Energy and water, so he provided water and food for her to eat. I also found the quote about Mary wishing she had been dead quite interesting as this is a very different take on the story than from a Christian prospective.
I do not think that this passage was meant to be taken literally, as well. It was just meant to show that when she was in need of food and water, God provided her with what she needed. I was compelled by Mary’s quote about death as it shows a different perspective than that of other religions. I have also heard different dates as to when Jesus was born, so I am not sure if it can be exact as to that actual date, only estimated.
As said before and i agree i with the others, the passage of the shaking of the tree and providing of the dates is simply to show that God will provide for whom he chooses and at his own will. Furthermore in regards to setting a date for the birth of Jesus, considering we are also talking about two entirely different calender systms, the western solar calender vs. the Islamic lunar calender if you accorded a date to the the birth of jesus in the muslim calender it would also be at a completely different day every year on the solar calender. And considering in the time of jesus there wasnt even a western solar calender esablished in the same way it is today nobody can really put a date to anything from this time period on either calender.
haha, i like the first post. i can't picture a woman shaking a palm tree and having dates fall out of them. i viewed it, just as everyone else, as a sign of food and water for Mary after giving birth. It seems as thought Mary did not want this child and it brought a lot of hardships and pain to her, and the sign of the stream and food was that God was watching out for her because he knew this was going to bring upon bigger and better things.
I found it kind of ironic that this story talks about Jesus being born under a palm tree. As most know, the palm branches symbolize righteousness, resurrection; victory. It was a common custom in many lands in the ancient Near East to cover, in some way, the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honor. This happened to Jesus in an event Christians now call Palm Sunday when he made his way into the city of Jerusalem. So although the Muslim people may not believe that Jesus was directly descended from God, I think that the fact of him being born under a palm tree signifies that the Muslims do hold Jesus in some high regard.
As for the date issue, I think that overtime the stories have been changed throughout history. It is most likely that the dates of certain events have been changed as well. What exactly fell from the tree could possibly have been any type of fruit.
First and foremost, I don't really think this passage can be taken literally, unless you fully believe that people can communicate directly or indirectly with G-d without interference. I think, like the other major religions, this is a story of the creation of a prophet and important religious figure. In Christianity, this same story is produced differently. I think this should be viewed as what it is- a religious story, allowing people to learn from a creative perspective, rather than being told exactly what happened. As in most religions, there is a freedom of self-interpretation, to some level, and I think the creation of Jesus is not as important as the creation of Muhammad in Islam, and therefore this story is produced creatively as a way to engage people. Again, it leaves people the option to decide whether or not it is literal.
I also thought that the stream and dates provided by God were to give Mary comfort as well as to remind her that God cares and acknowledges her suffering. As for the dates being out of season, I think that it could definitely be a possibility. When I first read the passage, I interpreted the stream as a miracle, as if Mary was in the middle of a desert without water when suddenly God created a water source. If that was the case, then perhaps providing dates for Mary when they were out of season was also a miracle. Then again, as other people have said, Jesus' official birth date is debatable and may have occurred when the dates where actually in season.
I would have to agree that I don't take this passage literally. I also cannot picture Mary shaking the palm tree after giving birth. The comment about wishing to die from Mary really shocked me. I do not really understand why that comment was made coming from a Catholic background. On the other hand, I do understand that God was providing everything for her in order to replenish herself and to be prepared to be a mother. I think that looking so close in detail can sometimes be deceiving because not everything is intended literal. So debating about the season and when Jesus was born, I do not think that is the point that is trying to be expressed in this passage.
I think if my memory serves correctly, in the Bible, Mary is not labeled with anything such as a prophet or does she throw a fit about have Jesus. I know in the Bible she is a respectable figure carrying out the act of the Lord, but in Qur'an she says she is a Prophet of God. I think that it is awesome so early in her life that she was labeled a Prophet of God. I do not know why she is so angry or frustrated about having Jesus or why she is depicted that way.
Now, going along with everybody else about the dates and water...I think she is given the dates and water so she can regain her strength after giving birth to Jesus. She needs her strength she can go back to her people and show the work of God and what has just happened because it happens to be that baby she is holding is a Prophet for them and will do many great things in the future.
I viewed this passage in the Sura of Mary as being a story, rather than a literal event. What I found interesting is that in the Qur'an they state that Mary became pregnant as a virgin and that Jesus could talk from birth, but they do not agree that the child born was the son of God. I personally think that if God personally placed a child into a woman that child should be considered the son of God, rather than just another prophet. I was also surprised to learn that Mary did not want the child.
I also don't take this passage literally but, in respect to Jesus being born in October, I have heard that the reason that birth of Jesus is celebrated on the 25th of December is because that is when the 3 Wise Men finally reached him. They had seen the star and followed the star but, who knows how long that took. But, metophorically, I think this passage is just saying that if you believe in God and you do his will that he will provide for you. No matter what the circumstances are. So, if dates really ripen in October and it was December, maybe God provided her ripe dates.
I also did not take this literally. There are many reasons that God would provide Mary with dates, she was hungry or maybe they were her favorite fruit and plentiful around the area. For she was about to give birth to the "immaculate conception" child, Im sure she was in need of strength. I agree with Sarah Ihns when she talks about the the righteousness and victory that the palm trees symbolize meaning the Muslims held Jesus in a high regard and think very highly of him, maybe that is where the palm tree comes in.
I also didnt take the passage literally. I feel like it can almost be seen metaphorically. When he says "dates" that can mean many different things..such as food, water a "date" haha..anyways he was just letting her know to be thankful for what she does have and not to be ashamed of what happened because everyone makes mistakes, and the best is yet to come.
Well now I know when Middle Eastern dates ripen! And on that note I don't think the exact of Jesus's birth was Dec. 25th. There obviously needs to be a date to celebrate that event whether he was the Son of God or just another prophet or just a man. I'm intrigued as to why Mary would say that she wished she had died "before this happened". Which leads me to ask...Do Muslims believe Jesus' birth was from a virgin?
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