33 Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham and the Family of 'Imran above (all His) creatures.
34 They were descendants one of another. Allah is Hearer, Knower.
Trivia:
Surah 3
THE FAMILY OF 'IMRAN (Al 'Imran)
3:33-72
Allah liked Adam, Noah, Abrahams' family, and the family of 'Imran [1] more that everyone else.
35 (Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!
Remember when 'Imran's wife said,
My Lord, I've vowed to to give to you what's in my belly.
36 And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and lo! I have named her Mary, and lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast.
And when she gave birth, she said.
It's a girl! I'll name her Mary.
Protect her and her children from Satan.
37 And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh unto thee this (food) ? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will.
Allah made Zachariah Mary's guardian. [2]
38 Then Zachariah prayed unto his Lord and said: My Lord! Bestow upon me of Thy bounty goodly offspring. Lo! Thou art the Hearer of Prayer.
39 And the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary: Allah giveth thee glad tidings of (a son whose name is) John, (who cometh) to confirm a word from Allah lordly, chaste, a prophet of the righteous.
40 He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when age hath overtaken me already and my wife is barren ? (The angel) answered: So (it will be). Allah doeth what He will.
41 He said: My Lord! Appoint a token for me. (The angel) said: The token unto thee (shall be) that thou shalt not speak unto mankind three days except by signs. Remember thy Lord much, and praise (Him) in the early hours of night and morning.
One day, when Zachariah was praying, his Lord said to him,
You're going to have a son named John.
Zachariah said,
I'm too old to have a son and my wife is barren.
But the angel said,
It'll happen. Allah does whatever he wants.
Zachariah said,
Give me a sign so I'll know this will happen.
So the angel made it so Zachariah couldn't speak for three days.
42 And when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah hath chosen thee and made thee pure, and hath preferred thee above (all) the women of creation.
43 O Mary! Be obedient to thy Lord, prostrate thyself and bow with those who bow (in worship).
44 This is of the tidings of things hidden. We reveal it unto thee (Muhammad). Thou wast not present with them when they threw their pens (to know) which of them should be the guardian of Mary, nor wast thou present with them when they quarrelled (thereupon).
The angels said to Mary, [3]
You are Allah's favorite woman.
45 (And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto Allah).
46 He will speak unto mankind in his cradle and in his manhood, and he is of the righteous.
The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary
sends you his glad tidings.
47 She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me? He said: So (it will be). Allah createth what He will. If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is.
48 And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel,
Mary said,
How can I have a child when no man has ever touched me?
But OK. Allah can do whatever he wants.
49 And will make him a messenger unto the Children of Israel, (saying): Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by Allah's leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah's leave. And I announce unto you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you, if ye are to be believers.
50 And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me.
Jesus will say this to the people of Israel:
I'll make a clay bird, breathe on it, and it'll become a real bird.
I'll heal people and raise the dead.
I'll tell you what to eat.
I'll confirm the Torah,
and make some things legal that were forbidden.
So be faithful to Allah by following me.
51 Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.
Allah is my Lord and your Lord. Worship him.
52 But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We will be Allah's helpers. We believe in Allah, and bear thou witness that we have surrendered (unto Him).
53 Our Lord! We believe in that which Thou hast revealed and we follow him whom Thou hast sent. Enrol us among those who witness (to the truth).
But when Jesus saw their disbelief, he cried:
Who will help me in the cause of Allah?
The disciples said,
We will. We believe in Allah.
54 And they (the disbelievers) schemed, and Allah schemed (against them): and Allah is the best of schemers.
55 (And remember) when Allah said: O Jesus! Lo! I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing thee of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow thee above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me ye will (all) return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein ye used to differ.
As the disbelievers schemed, Allah schemed.
Allah is the best schemer
Remember when Allah said to Jesus,
I'm cleansing you of disbelievers and setting your followers above disbelievers.
56 As for those who disbelieve I shall chastise them with a heavy chastisement in the world and the Hereafter; and they will have no helpers.
57 And as for those who believe and do good works, He will pay them their wages in full. Allah loveth not wrong-doers.
58 This (which) We recite unto thee is a revelation and a wise reminder.
As for disbelievers, I'll chastise them with a heavy chastisement in this world and the next.
No one will help them.
59 Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is.
60 (This is) the truth from thy Lord (O Muhammad), so be not thou of those who waver.
61 And whoso disputeth with thee concerning him, after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, say (unto him): Come! We will summon our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, then we will pray humbly (to our Lord) and (solemnly) invoke the curse of Allah upon those who lie.
62 Lo! This verily is the true narrative. There is no God save Allah, and lo! Allah, He verily is, is the Mighty, the Wise.
63 And if they turn away, then lo! Allah is Aware of (who are) the corrupters.
64 Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).
65 O People of the Scripture! Why will ye argue about Abraham, when the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed till after him? Have ye then no sense?
Jesus is like Adam to Allah.
Allah created Adam from dust. [4]
66 Lo! ye are those who argue about that whereof ye have some knowledge: Why then argue ye concerning that whereof ye have no knowledge? Allah knoweth. Ye know not.
67 Abraham was not a Jew, nor yet a Christian; but he was an upright man who had surrendered (to Allah), and he was not of the idolaters.
68 Lo! those of mankind who have the best claim to Abraham are those who followed him, and this Prophet and those who believe (with him); and Allah is the Protecting Guardian of the believers.
69 A party of the People of the Scripture long to make you go astray; and they make none to go astray except themselves, but they perceive not.
70 O People of the Scripture! Why disbelieve ye in the revelations of Allah, when ye (yourselves) bear witness (to their truth)?
71 O People of the Scripture! Why confound ye truth with falsehood and knowingly conceal the truth ?
72 And a party of the People of the Scripture say: Believe in that which hath been revealed unto those who believe at the opening of the day, and disbelieve at the end thereof, in order that they may return;
Don't argue about things that you know nothing about.
Allah knows. You don't.
Notes
- The family of 'Imran (v.33)
'Imran is, according the Quran, Jesus's maternal grandfather (Mary's father). The name isn't mentioned in the Bible, but that doesn't stop Catholics from giving him a name. They called him Joahim.
The Quran calls Mary's father, 'Imran, with is also the name it gives to Moses's father -- whose biblical name was Amran.
But whoever 'Imran is this verse is, Allah loves him more everyone else.
- Her Lord ... made Zachariah her guardian. (v.37)
This story in verses 37-41 is taken from Luke 1. It agrees fairly well with it, except for the part about Zachariah being Mary's guardian.
- When the angels said: O Mary! (v.42)
- He created him of dust (v.59)