In Islam, Hazrat Isa ibn Maryam (i.e., Jesus Christ) is believed to be the penultimate Prophet and Messenger of Allah and the Messiah. He is also considered to be the Prophet sent to guide the Children of Israel (Banī Isra’īl) and given the Holy Book called the Injīl.
In this article, we shall look at some of the narrations from the Shi’a reliable sources about the lifestyle of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him).
It is reported that Imam ‘Ali (a.s) said in one of his sermons:
If you like, I will tell you about Jesus the son of Mary, Peace he upon him. He used a stone as his pillow, wore course clothing and ate rough food. His stew was hunger and his lamp in the night was the moon. His cover in the winter was the east of the earth and its west. His fruit and his basil were that which grows from the earth for the cattle. He had no wife to try him, and no son to grieve him. He had no wealth to distract him, nor greed to abase him. His mount was his feet and his servant was his hands. (1)
Imam Musa al-Kazim (a.s) said:
John the son of Zachariah (a.s) cried and did not laugh, and Jesus the Son of Mary (a.s) laughed and cried, and what Jesus did was more excellent than what John did. (2)
It is also documented that:
Jesus, Peace he upon him, served a meal to the Apostles, and when they had eaten it, he himself washed their hands. They said: O Spirit of God! It would have been more proper for us to wash yours! He said: I did this only that you would do this for those whom you teach. (3)
It is reported that Abu ‘Abd Allah [Imam Sadiq], Peace he upon him, said:
Verily, Jesus the son of Mary, Peace be upon him, came to the tomb of John the son of Zachariah, Peace he upon him, and he asked his Lord to revive him. Then he called him, and he answered him and he came out from the grave and said to him: ‘What do you want from me?’ And he said to him: ‘I want you to be friends with me as you were in this world’ Then he said to him: ‘O Jesus! The heat of death has not yet subsided, and you want me to return to the world and the heat of death would return to me. So he Jesus left him, and he returned to his grave.’ (4)
It is documented that:
Jesus, Peace he upon him, passed by a grave whose occupant was being chastised. Then he passed it the following year when he was not being chastised. He said: O Lord! I passed through this town last year and he was being chastised, and I passed through it this year while he is not being chastised. Then God revealed to him: O Spirit of God! Verily one of his children matured and removed obstacles from a road and sheltered an orphan. Then I forgave him for the deeds of his child. (5)
Imam Sadiq (a.s) was asked:
Did Jesus the son of Mary raise anyone from the dead, so that he ate and had a livelihood, and continued his life for a term and had offspring? He said: Yes, he had a friend who was a brother to him in God. And when Jesus passed by, he would go to visit him. And Jesus (a.s) would spend a while with him. Then he would leave with salutations of Peace unto him. Once his mother came out to him [Jesus] and she said to him: ‘He died, O Apostle of God!’ He said to her: ‘Would you like to see him?’ She said: ‘Yes.’ He said to her: ‘I will come tomorrow to raise him with the permission of God. The next day he came and said to her: ‘Accompany me to his grave.’ So they went to his grave. Jesus (a.s) stopped and then he called on God.
Then the grave opened and her son came out alive. When his mother saw him and he saw her, they cried. Jesus (a.s) felt compassion for them and said to him: ‘Would you like to remain with your mother in the world?’ He said: ‘O Apostle of God! With eating and daily bread and a term, or without a term and a daily bread?’ Then Jesus (a.s) said to him: ‘Of course with daily bread and a term. You will live for twenty years, marry and father a child.’ He said: ‘Yes, in that case.’ [Imam Sadiq] said: Then Jesus (a.s) returned him to his mother and he lived for twenty years, married and fathered a child. (6)
Abu al-Layth said in his commentary of the Qur’an:
The people asked Jesus (a.s) in ridicule: ‘Create a bat for us and put a soul in it if you are one of the truthful. Then he took some clay and formed a bat and breathed into it. Then it suddenly flew between the sky and the earth. The clay was moulded and breathed into by Jesus, but the creation was by God, the Supreme. And it is said that they asked to create a bat because it is more wonderful than other creatures. (7)
Al-Sayyid ibn Tawus, may God have mercy on him, said:
I read in the Gospel that Jesus (a.s) boarded a ship and his disciples were with him when suddenly there was great confusion in the sea so that the ship came near to being covered by the waves. And it was as though [Jesus (a.s)] was asleep. Then his disciples came to him and awakened him and said: ‘O master! Save us so that we do not perish.’ He said to them: ‘O you of little faith! What has frightened you?’ Then he stood up and drove away the winds, and there was a great stillness. The people marvelled, and said: ‘How is this? Verily the winds and the sea obey him. (8)
It is reported that a woman from Canaan brought her invalid son to Jesus, Peace he upon him. She said:
O Prophet of God! This, my son is an invalid. Pray to God for him. He said: That which I have been commanded is only the healing of the invalids of the Children of Israel. She said: O Spirit of God! Verily the dogs receive the remnants from the tables of their masters after the meal, so, avail us of that which may benefit us of your wisdom. Then he supplicated God, the Supreme, asking for permission. Then He gave His permission, and he made him well. (9)
It is reported that,
Jesus (a.s) passed by a man who was blind, leprous and paralytic, and Jesus heard him giving thanks and saying: Praised be God Who has protected me from the trials with which He afflicts most of the men. Jesus (‘a) said: What trial remains which has not visited you? He said: He protected me from a trial which is the greatest of trials, and that is unbelief Then Jesus (‘a) touched him, and God cured him from his illnesses and beautified his face. Then he became a companion of Jesus (‘a) and worshipped with him. (10)
NOTES:
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1. Nahj al-balagha, Sermon 158.
2. Al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 665.
3. Bihar al-Anwar, 17, 326.
4. Al-Kafi, vol. 3, p. 260.
5. Al-Kafi, vol. 6, p. 3.
6. Bihar al-Anwar vol. 14, 233
7. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 64, p. 322.
8. Bihar al-Anwar v,ol. 14, p. 266.
9. Bihar al-Anwar vol. 14, p. 253.
10. Bihar al-Anwar, 71, p. 33.
