إِن هُوَ إِلّا عَبدٌ أَنعَمنا عَلَيهِ وَجَعَلناهُ مَثَلًا لِبَني إِسرائيلَ

He was just a servant whom We had blessed and made an exemplar for the Children of Israel.

EXPOSITION

To refute the absurd and frivolous contention of the polytheists, this verse defines the true status of Prophet Jesus (a). Whilst the previous verse depicted the feeble attempts of the polytheists to compare Prophet Jesus (a) with their deities in terms of divinity, this verse explicitly negates any divinity from Prophet Jesus (a) by categorically classifying him as God’s servant, and thus it is impossible to compare him with the false deities that the polytheists worshipped.[1] In fact, the first words spoken by Prophet Jesus (a) in the cradle was an attestation to his being a servant of God (19:31).[2]

Whom We had blessed: the verse does not explicitly refer to a specific blessing or set of blessings. Some exegetes have understood this as a reference to the blessing of prophethood, being aided by the holy spirit, and the performance of evidentiary miracles by Prophet Jesus (a): When Allah will say: O Jesus son of Mary, remember My blessing upon you and upon your mother, when I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so you would speak to the people in the cradle and in adulthood, and when I taught you the book and wisdom, the Torah and the Evangel, and when you would create from clay the form of a bird, with My leave, and you would breathe into it and it would become a bird, with My leave; and you would heal the blind and the leper, with My leave, and you would raise the dead, with My leave; and when I held off [the evil of] the Children of Israel from you when you brought them manifest proofs, whereat the faithless among them said: ‘This is nothing but plain magic’ (5:110).

By first defining Prophet Jesus (a) as a servant and then having been blessed, some exegetes understand this to allude to a general principle that servitude to God is actually the cause of receiving divine blessings.[3]

Made an exemplar (mathal) for the Children of Israel: what is meant by exemplar (mathal) in this verse may be an allusion to Prophet Jesus (a) being a great sign of God whose renown became like that of famous proverbs.[4] What made him such a sign was the fact that he was born without a father,[5] his speaking in the cradle, as well as his performing wonderous miracles, all pointing towards the greatness of his status with God.[6] The Quran explicitly mentions that Prophet Jesus (a) and his mother, Lady Mary, are together a sign of God (21:91).[7]

Another interpretation of exemplar is that Prophet Jesus (a) was dispatched to the Children of Israel specifically as a living model of spiritual integrity and as a corrective paradigm. He was sent not merely as a prophet but as a living embodiment of a counter-cultural ethic. Through his extreme humility, his detachment from worldly pursuits, and his radiant spiritual character, he stood in stark opposition to the moral decay around him. His mission was to serve as a role model for a society that had become consumed by arrogance, a love for materialism, a dangerous sense of self-importance, and a pervasive disregard for the rights of others. This view has been attributed to Suddī and Qatādah among the early exegetes.[8]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some exegetes state that the blessings given to Prophet Jesus (a) include faith and divine succour.[9]

Some exegetes suggest that Prophet Jesus (a) has been made a lesson or admonitory sign for everyone in terms of how some have been guided through him whilst others have deviated due to their false beliefs about him. This meaning of exemplar is similar to how the same word was used in verse 56: Thus We made them the vanguard and an example (mathal) for posterity.[10]

Some exegetes opine that exemplar here means ‘parable’ as used in 3:59, Indeed the case (mathal) of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him: ‘Be,’ and he was.[11]

[1] Mizan, 18/117.
[2] Atyab, 12/46.
[3] Rahnama, 17/84.
[4] Mizan, 18/117.
[5] Tabrisi, 9/81.
[6] Amthal, 16/80.
[7] Hadi, 3/245.
[8] Tibyan, 9/210.
[9] Tabari, 20/62.
[10] Ibn Ashur, 25/278.
[11] Atyab, 12/46.