Learn Sincerity From The Story of Isa

Among the 25 Prophets and Messengers, there are 5 prophets who have the nature of Ulil ‘Azmi among them are Prophet Mohammad, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, Prophet Ibrahim as, Prophet Musa as, Prophet Isa as and Prophet Noah. Those who have the nature of Ulil ‘Azim are Apostles who have admirable sincerity, extraordinary courage, and infinite patience, even though they get various kinds of reproaches, insults, painful challenges. They remain steadfast, patient, and always struggling in order to convey The Words of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala to mankind no matter how hard it was. In this article, we are going to learn sincerity from the story of Isa.

The title Ulul Azmi is explained in The Noble Quran Surah Al Ahzab verse 7 in which Allah SWT commanded the Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, to mention that Allah SWT took from the prophets their covenant, and from Prophet Mohammad, Prophet Noah, Prophet Ibrahim, Prophet Moses and prophet Jesus or Isa, the son of Mary. Allah SWT took from them a solemn or sincere covenant.

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala informed that He took a firm agreement with the prophets in general, and from the apostles of ulul ‘azmi specifically, to establish the religion of Allah and struggle in His way, and that this road was the path that the previous prophets traveled until it was ended by the closing of the prophets, namely Muhammad sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam. He also commanded humans to follow the prophet.

Birth of Prophet Isa Alaihis Salam

Prophet Isa Alaihi Salam or Jesus AS is an important prophet in Islam and is one of the Ulul Azmi. In the Qur’an, he is called Isa bin Maryam or Isa al-Masih. He was appointed prophet in 29 CE and was assigned to preach to the Children of Israel in Palestine. His name is mentioned 25 times in the The Holy Quran.

The story of Mary or Maryam, the mother of Prophet Isa is told in the Holy Book of Qur’an. In Surah Maryam, verse 16 to 21, it was told that Allah sent the Archangel Gabriel to meet Maryam. Every time he met Maryam, the Archangel Gabriel disguised himself as a human. Maryam thought that the Angel was a person who was up to no good, so Maryam said, “I take refuge in Allah for your crimes and surrender to Him to preserve my honor and purity. If you fear Allah, stay away from my side! ” Then the Archangel Gabriel answered, “I am not the human you think you are, but I am an angel sent by Allah to grant you a pious boy, and spread goodness and blessings.” Mary was surprised to hear the words of the Gabriel, while saying “How can I have a son, whereas I have never been touched by a man, and I am not a prostitute?” Angel Gabriel said, “What I say is true, your Lord said,” That entrust a child without a father for Me it is easy, so that this becomes a sign of My greatness, and to be a blessing for those who want to take it as a guide, and the creation of Jesus is a predetermined and must occur. ”

So as stated in the Qur’an, Allah SWT created Prophet Isa not through a normal man and woman relationship like normal human being. The prophet was directly put into Maryam’s womb despite she is being a virgin.

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After Mary gave birth, then Jesus was brought into the community. They were shocked, because they knew very well that Maryam was a diligent person in worship, so the residents of her village were in an uproar, seeing a girl who was unmarried but she was pregnant and gave birth to a child. This raises doubts and bad accusations against Mary.

Responding to all their accusations, Maryam stayed silent in accordance with the will of Angel Gabriel. He only gave a signal to his son who was still in the cradle to respond to them, but they became even more angry because he thought that Maryam was insulting them. Because small children in the cradle, it is usually not possible to speak, but Prophet Isa can answer their questions clearly and firmly, so as to reassure his mother’s heart. Jesus was moved by Allah to speak, and it was one of the prophet mukjizat.

The infant prophet said that he is the servant of Allah. He also said that Allah gave him the book of Injil (the Gospel) and Allah made him a prophet. He said that and Allah made him a blessed person wherever he was, and He commanded him to pray and to pay Zakat as long as he live. The prophet also said that he will obey and serve his mother, and He does not make him a proud, wretched person. And prosperity may be bestowed upon Isa, on the day of his birth, his death, and on the day he will be resurrected. That is Isa son of Mary, who said the right words, which they doubted the truth of (Surah Maryam / 19: 30 -34).

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What We Can Learm From Prophet Isa as Ulul Azmi

We can learn sincerity from the story of Isa. He is a prophet who got the nickname ulul ‘azmi because he has a lot of patience and determination in conveying the teachings of  Allah SWT. Especially, when the Prophet Isa (as) patiently accepted the trials as a poor man, his student’s betrayal, facing slander, was about to be driven out and killed by the Children of Israel.

1. Prophet Isa was very poor but he never forgets Allah. He only has one clothes which he used for 20 years. His robes were 2 layers, inside and out. If the outside is washed, he only uses the inner one. If the inside is washed, he uses the outside. Wash once a week. He lived in a cave and didn’t have house. Next time we have no money, remember that Jesus was poorer. But not even one second he forgot Allah.
2. Prophet Jesus preached so that people who were misled to repent, return to the right path . However, the Prophet Isa faced fiercet resistance with various slanders and ridicule. They asked Jesus to prove his prophecy and apostleship. He didn’t angry but through Allah Help Prophet Jesus showed them some miracles. We should always be patience and ask for Allah’s help when conveying the truth, don’t use anger.
3. Among Jesus’ friends, there was a betrayers, namely Judas Iscariot. He put a false accusations to the Roman authorities that Jesus would rebel and overthrow the ruler. On the instructions of Judas Roman soldiers surrounded the hiding place of Prophet Jesus with his students. In this dangerous situation, Allah saved the Prophet Jesus. Prophet Jesus was neither crucified nor killed, but Allah raised him. As explained by Allah in the Qur’an surah An-Nisa’ verse 157. Allah Almighty make the face of Judas Iscariot, the traitor was likened to the face of the Prophet Jesus so that Judas Iscariot was caught  by the Roman army and crucified in place of the prophet. The prophet was patience in the face of such betrayal, we can follow the example of prophet Isa if our friends betrayed us. We also don’t get discouraged when are not wrong despite false accusations

From the story of Isa, we can learn that we have to be sincere,  and does not yield to fear and show extraordinary courage, and to always be patience, even though we get various kinds of reproaches, insults, painful challenges or even when we are threatened to be killed.  In order to spread Islam, we have to follow the sincerity of Ulul Azmi especially the example of Prophet Isa. Amen.