By Thomas J. O'Shaughnessy, S. J., Manila
It has often been noted that the Qur'än in referring to Jesus cites
Gospel phrases without conveying their full import.' A hitherto unre¬
marked example of this would seem to be the words spoken by Jesus to
Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday moming, "I am ascending ... to my
God and your God" (Jn 20. 17).
Most Biblical commentators from Augustine on have seen in this text
an implicit affirmation of Christ's divinity. "My Father and your
Father" is intentionally phrased, they say, so as to express the differ¬
ence between his relationship to the Father and ours. But the Qur'än
puts similar words on the lips of Jesus in five different places, seemingly
with dependence on Jn 20. 17, to imply the contrary, that is, that Christ
is only a servant of God like His other servants. The five passages, with
enough of their contexts to show their similarities, are as follows:^
3. 50—55/44—48 I confirm the Law (revealed) before me (said
Jesus) .... Then fear God and obey me. Indeed God is my Lord
and your Lord; so serve Him. This is a straight path. When Jesus
perceived their disbelief, he said: Who are my helpers . . . ? The
Apostles said: We are God's helpers. We believe in God. Bear wit¬
ness that we have surrendered (to Him) God said: 0 Jesus, I
will bring your term to an end and raise you to Myself
5. 72-75/76—79 . . . The Messiah said: Children of Israel, serve
God, my Lord and your Lord . . . .There are no helpers for the wrong
doers See how We explain the signs to them and see
how they are turned away (from the tmth).
' See, for example, W. Montgomery Watt: Bell's Introduction to the Qur'än.
Edinburgh: University Press 1970, p. 158, in reference to "Messiah"; Jean
M. Abd-el-Jalil: Aspects interieurs de I'islam. Paris: Seuil 1949, p. 194;
Richard Bell: The Origin of Islam in Its Christian Environment. London: Cass
& Co. Ltd. 1968, p. 141, in reference to the Lord's Supper.
2 The verses containing the phrase are 3. 51/44;5. 72/76;5. 117; 19. 36/37;
and 43. 64. The numbering follows that of the standard Egyptian edition of the Qur'än, Flijgel's where it differs, being put after the diagonal.
19 ZDMG 131/2
5. 110-117/109-117 . . . You (0 Jesus) brought signs to them and
those who disbelieved said: This is only magic. When 1 (God) sug¬
gested to the Apostles: Believe in Me and in My messenger (Jesus),
they said: We believe. Bear witness that we have siurendered (to
God) .... I (Jesus) said to them only what You told me: Serve God,
my Lord and your Lord .... When You brought my term to an end.
You were the watcher over them.
19. 34—36/35—37 Conceming him they doubt, Jesus, son of Mary,
the word of creative command.^ (Jesus said:) . . . . Indeed God is my
Lord and your Lord; so serve Him. This is a straight path.
43. 63—64 1 explain . . .things you disagree on, said Jesus. Then fear
God and obey me. Indeed God is my Lord and your Lord; so serve
Him. This is a straight path.
Of the five, the passage that most closely resembles Jn 20. 17 would
be 3. 51/44: "Indeed God is my Lord and your Lord; so serve Him.
This is a straight path." Here the phrase "my Lord and your Lord" is the
equivalent of John's "my God and your God," since rabb (lord) in the
Qur'än, especially when accompanied by the possessive sufiix, is one of
God's usual names. The use of "lord" is even preferable here, because
"my God and your God" could have an altemative meaning in Arabic.
Since a noun made definite by the addition of a pronominal sufiix drops
the definite article, Alläh would drop the al that makes it signify "God"
unequivocally and the phrase would take the ambiguous form "my God
and your God" or "my god and your god." Both meanings are found in the Qur'än: "Our God and your God is One" (29. 46/45) and "Look at your god ... we will burn it" (20. 97).
In close proximity to 3. 51/44 too there is a reference to Jesus's
ascension, which is the main thought of Jn 20. 17: "God said: Jesus, I
am going to bring your term to an end and raise you to Myself (3. 55/
48) and "I ascend to . . . my God and your God" (Jn 20. 17). The
Muslim interpreters all agree that Jesus was taken up to Heaven. But
because the Qur'an denies the alleged claim of the Jews that they slew
the Messiah (4. 157f/156f), the commentators disagree as to whether
the taking up took place without his previous death. The Qur'anic
passage differs from John's Gospel by emphasizing God's action on
Christ's humanity as does the New Testament in several places: "God
has raised him to the loftiest heights" (Phil 2. 9), "he was taken up "
(Mk 16. 19), "hewaslifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight"
(Acts 1. 9). A Patristic source that would seem to approach closely the
' For this translation of hagq see JAOS 91 (1971), p. 218, col. 2.
thought of "completion" suggested by the Qur'anic "bring a term to an end" (ta waffä, to receive in full) in 3. 55/48 and 5. 117 is Aphraates:
"Jesus handed over the keys to Simon and ascended and went away to
him who sent him/"*
Both John's Gospel and two (3. 52/45 and 5. 111) of the five Qur'anic
texts also introduce the Apostles into the contexts of the "my God
(Lord) and your God (Lord)" verses. In the Qur'anic passages Jesus or
God makes a proposal and the Apostles reply, "We are God's helpers;
we beheve" (3. 52/45) or simply "We believe" (5. 111). In Jn 20. 17 f Jesus tells Mary Magdalene, "Go to my brethren," and "Mary Magda¬
lene went ... to the disciples." These same verses in the Qur'än and in
Jn are also set into a background of disbelief: "Jesus perceived their
disbelieP (3. 52/45), "those who disbeheved" (5. 110), and "1 (Thomas)
will not believe" (Jn 20. 25). The two Qur'arhc texts and Jn's Gospel
also speak of witness borne in God's cause — "1 (Jesus) have come
confirming (bearing witness to the authenticity of) the Torah ... 1 have
brought you a sign from your Lord" (3. 50/44), "Bear vtdtness that we
(Apostles) have surrendered (5. Ill), and "Mary Magdalene . . . said: 1
have seen the Lord, and she told them that he had said these things to
her" (Jn 20. 18).
Finally, the proper name Mary is linked with Jesus in John and in all
five of the Qur'anic passages. In the Qur'än (3. 45/40; 5. 72/76;
5. 110/109; 19. 34/35; and 43. 57) it refers to the mother of Jesus -
"the angels said: Mary, God gives you tidings of . . . Jesus" and in
Jn 20. 16 to Mary Magdalene: "Jesus said to her: Mary." In the other
texts and passim the Qur'än refers to Jesus as "son of Mary." But in
John's Gospel the mother of Jesus is never called by this name; John
reserves "Mary" for his secondary characters exclusively. For an
informed Christian the mistaking of Mary Magdalene for the mother of
Jesus would be inconceivable. But if the account of Jesus's Easter appa-
lätion to Magdalene did reach Muhammad, it would have been by word
of mouth and probably from someone who had acquired it from hearsay
information. The Qur'än often gives only names and bare outlines of
Biblical events and these in a vague and disordered way. In one
passage it even seems to identify Mary the mother of Jesus with
Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, so that 'Imrän (3. 33/30), the
Biblical Amram, would be the father of Moses and the grandfather of
Jesus.'
'' Aphraates: Demonstratio XXI: De Persecutione, n. 13 = Patrologia Syriaca.
Ed. R. Graffin. p. 1, T. 1. Paris: Firmin-Didot 1894, col. 965, lin. 15-17.
' Richard Bell: The Origin, p. 132.
19»
Such a hnking of the two Marys, then, would be easily conceivable
given the great number of Jevdsh contacts tradition ascribes to
Muhanunad.' In some of the early Jewish polemical writings Miriam the
hairdresser (another name for Mary Magdalene) was said to have been
the mother of Jesus.' Certain traditions among Eastem Christians also
placed Mary Magdalene at Ephesus after the Resurrection and, desig¬
nating her as a virgin, made her a companion of John the Apostle,* as
they did also with the Blessed Virgin Mary.'
The Muslim commentators on the Qur'än see in the phrase "my Lord
and your Lord" only an indication that Jesus is a servant whom God
created, a man like other men,'° a servant like the rest of God's
servants," and an apostle like other apostles,'^ with the added implica¬
tion, "1 am not a god."'^ The more common Christian tradition,
however, sees in the distinction Jesus makes between "my God and
your God" an indication of his divinity. St. Ephraem, the great repre¬
sentative of fourth century Syriac Christianity, had stated this position
in a note on Jn 20. 17:
He did not say "to our Father and to our God" but "to my Father"
and then "to your Father" and "to my God" and then "to your God. "
In commenting on the same text St. Augustine developed the distinc¬
tion in greater detail:
He does not say "our Father." Consequently he is mine in one sense
and yours in another sense, mine by nature, yours by grace. "And my
God and your God. " Nor did he say here "our God. " Here too, there¬
fore, he is mine in one sense, yours in another sense: my God under
' Julian Obermann: Koran and Agada: The Events at Mount Sinai. In: The
American Joumal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 58 (1941), pp. 26—28.
' Jaköb Jocz: The Jewish People and Jesus Christ: A Study in the Relationship between the Jewish People and Jesus Christ. London: S. P.C.K. 1949, p. 59; The
Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls 1904, Vol. 7, p. 170.
* Peter Ketter: The Magdalerui Question. Tr. by Hugh C. Koehler.
Milwaukee: Bruce 1935, pp. 82—83, and The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of
Religious Ktumledge. New York: Funk & Wagnalls 1910, Vol. 7, p. 225.
" The New Schaff-Herzog, Vol. 7, p. 221.
Tabari: Jämi' al-bayän. Mi§r 1954ff. u.ö., on 5. 72/76.
" Tabari on 3. 51/44.
Zamakhshari: al-Kashshäf. Misr 1924/5 u.ö., on 3. 51/44.
Jalälayn i.e. Jaläl-al-DIn al-Mahalli and Jaläl-al-Din as-Suyüti: Tafsir. In:
Baydäwi: Tafsir. Istanbul 1896 u.ö., on 5. 72/76.
Saint Ephrem: Commentaire de V Evangile Concordant. Version Armenienne.
Tr. by Louis Leloir. Louvain: Durbecq 1954. (Corpus scriptorum Christia¬
nomm Orientalium. Vol. 145, T. 2.), Ch XXI, 29, p. 237.
j whom I also am a man, your God between whom and you I am mediator.'^
Some Christian interpreters, however, like the Qur'än, see no refer¬
ence to Jesus's diviihty in the distinction reported by John. They
would hold that the expression can be understood merely as stressing
the identity of approach between Christ and the Apostles — "my God
who is also yours."" Nevertheless, Augustine's view that takes this
phrase to imply a special relationship between Jesus and the Father
which other men do not share is the prevailing opinion today. It is
confirmed by other forms of usage in the Gospels. This prompts Leon
Morris to remark: "Jesus never joins men with Himself in such a way
as to indicate that their sonship is similar to His."" In borrowing this
phrase, if indeed it did so, the ^r'äw would not have intended Augusti¬
ne's meaning, but the distinction itself would seem to carry some such
implication.
The aversion the Qur'än shows to concluding that Jesus is divine on
the basis of the "my Lord and your Lord" texts might suggest that
Muhammad had heard Syriac or other Christians interpret the phrase in
j Ephraem's or Augustine's sense. This aversion might also explain why
"fear of God," represented by some derivitive of waqä, recurs so consist-
1 ently in the immediate or mediate context of four of the five passages,
I thatis,in3. 50/44; 5. 65/70; 5. 112;and43. 63. It is only in 19. 37/36
that the thought is not found in close association with the "my Lord and
your Lord" verse. But it does recur six times in other parts of Sürah 19,
Sancti .Aurolii .^ugustini: Tractatus CXXIV: In lohannis Evangelium.
CXXI, 3. Tumholti: Typographi Brepolis Editores Pontificü 1954. (Corpus Chri¬
stianorum. Ser. Latina. Vol. 30.), pp. 066—07. Those agrct'ing with Augustine
include Leon Morris: The Gospel according to John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
1971, p. 842 n.; Josef Blinzler: Bauer's Encyclopedia of Biblical Theology.
London: Sheed 1970, Vol. 3, p. 867: J. H. Bernard: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. John. Edinburgh: Clark 1963, Vol. 2,
p. 671; Vol. 1, p. 91; Matthew Black and H. H. Rowley (Eds.): Peake's
Commentary on the Bible. London: Nelson 1963, p. 867; and R. H. Lightfoot:
St. John's Gospel: A Commentary. Ed. C. F. Evans Oxford: Clarendon Pr. 1957,
p. 333.
" Thus C. F. D. Moule: Worship intheNew Testament. London: Lutterworth
Pr. 1964, p. 77; and The Phenomenon of the New Testament. London: S C M Pr.
I 1967. (Studies in Biblical Theology. Ser. 2, Vol. 1.), p. 51. More recently,
I G. Richter: Der Vater und Gott Jesu und seiner Brüder in Joh. 20. 17. In:
Münchener Theologische Zeitschrift 24,2 (1973), pp. 95—114, also sees no basis in Jn 20. 17 for afilrming Christ's divinity.
" Leon Morris: The Gospel according to John, p. 195, n.
namely in verses 13/14; 18; 63/64; 72/73, 85/88; and 97. This repre¬
sents an unusually high frequency, comparable to that of Sürah 26
where, however, the term is part of a refrain. It would seem, then, that
"fear of God" was included in these texts as an integral part of the
warning against putting Jesus on an equal footing with God. This would
account too for the mention of disagreement, disbelief, and doubt which
constantly recurs throughout all five passages. These attitudes are to be
countered by reverential worship of Him who is Lord both of Jesus and
of mankind in general.
It is hard to assign 5. 117, chronologically the last of the five "my
Lord and your Lord" texts, to any definite date in the Medinan period'*.
Grimme dates ihe whole passage, 5. 1Ü9—12Ü/1Ü8— 120, from late 023
or early 624." Bell assigns it tentatively to 630 or 631 while admitting
that it may be earlier. Blachere refers the passage to the Christolo¬
gical dispute between Muhanunad and the Christians of Najrän in 631
mentioned by Tabari in his comment on another "my Lord and your
Lord" verse, 3. 51/44.^° The doctrine that the Qur'än aims to refute in
5. 116—120 is that Jesus and his mother are gods. It insists here and
elsewhere that they are both creatures (3. 59/52 ff; 43. 59), Jesus in
particular being bound to the same worship as other men.
There is a certain progression too, beyond the sense of the four
preceding texts, in the argument which 5. 117 mounts against Christ's
divinity. In those previous four Jesus appears as a mere servant of God
who is Lord equally of him and the rest of men. But in this passage
Jesus, after being called to account by God for his followers' belief,
explicitly denies having told them anything but what he was
commanded to — to serve God, his Lord and theirs alike.
Besides the progression in thought, the fact that the passage repeats
all the common cliches except "straight path" previously associated with "my Lord and your Lord" might also argue for its later date. Even the connotation of "helpers" may be present in the Qur'anic use of the
Ethiopic word hawän, here designating an Apostle of Jesus but
See W. Montgomery Watt: Muhammad at Medina. Oxford: Clarendon
Pr. 1966, p. 317.
" Hubert Grimme: Mohammed. Münster: Aachendorff 1895, Vol. 2,
pp. 27-29.
^° REGIS BlachEre: Le Coran: Traduction selon un essai de reclassement des
sourates. Paris: Maisonneuve 1947—51, p. 1136; Richard Bell: The Qur'än
Translated with a Critical Re-arrangement of the Surahs. Edinburgh: Clark 1960, p. 92.
connected by many Muslim authorities with hära, "to return," thus
making hawäri "one to whom one [returns or] tums for help."^'
A unique feature of the expression "serve God, my Lord and your
Lord," as it occurs in 5. 117, is that at first sight it seems to be cited as a
direct command given verbatim by God to Jesus for transmission to
those to whom he was sent. But the Muslim commentators on this verse,
especially Zamakhshari and Baydäwi, explain that God would not
phrase the command in this self-contradictory way — as though God
were Lord of Himself So, they conclude, the expression merely
explains or paraphrases the content of God's command that men should
worship Him.
The Qur'anic phrase "my Lord and your Lord" used by Jesus in refer¬
ring to God would seem to be one of those graphic, neatly phrased
Gospel tags that cling in the memory after one hearing. Many similar
examples could be given. The Qur'anic "house built on a crumbling
streambank" (9. 109/110) recalls Matthew's (7. 26-27) "house built on
sand." The Qur'anic "alms given to be seen by men" (2. 264/266) is like
Matthew's (6. 1—2) "justice (almsgiving) done to be seen by men."
Muhanunad's "lightening the believer's burden and the yoke (weighing)
on him" (7. 157/156) parallels Jesus's "easy yoke and light burden" in
Mtll. 30. The ^r'äw's (90. 10—11) "two lofty roads, one steep and not
attempted" resembles Matthew's (7. 13—14) "easy way to min and hard
way to life." The dialogue of h3rpocrites and believers in the Qur'än
(57. 13), "Let us borrow some of your light — Turn back and seek light,"
repeats that of the foolish and wise virgins in Mt 25. 8—9, "Give us some
of your oil — Go rather and buy for yourselves." The impossibility of
scomers' entering Heaven until a camel pass through the eye of a
needle (Sürah 7. 40/38) adapts Jesus's assertion (Mt 19. 24): "It is
easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter . . . Heaven. " Once, in Sürah 48. 29, explicit mention is made of
a passage in "the Gospel where they [believers] are compared to seed
which puts forth its shoot," apparently referring to Mk 4. 27 or a similar
text. In eleven other Medinan verses (3. 3/2, 48/43, 65/58; 5. 46/50,
47/51, 65/70, 68/72, 110; 7. 157/156; 9. 111/112; and 57. 27), the
Gospel is named as the book given to Jesus.
Arthur Jeffery: The Foreign Vocabulary of the Quran. Lahore: Al-Bimni
1977, p. 116. Jesus's howäriyün are paralleled in the Qur'än by Muhammad's an^är (helpers). See Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Pr.
1961, p. 137.
" The reading "cable" for "camel," possible in Greek, is also possible in Arabic. See BlachEre : Le Coran, p. 616, n. Other parallels are given by Hein-
Many of the parahels resemble vague recollections, like thoughts
gathered from hearing Gospel passages read or homilies preached at
Christian liturgies" or like ideas casually picked up at second or third
hand from Christian slaves or merchants encountered in Mecca, but
especially in Medina. Bell in fact dates all the above given examples
from Medina except that of the "steep road not attempted" (90. 10—11).
Even the explanation of this "steep road" as deeds of supererogation in
the adjoining verses (90. 12—16) he regards as a Medinan addition.
If one regards not only the phrase "my God (Lord) and your God
(Lord)" in comparing John's account of Magdalene's Easter encounter
with Jesus and the "my Lord and your Lord" contexts in the Qur'an, but
also the many incidental notions in both — ascension. Apostles, disbe¬
lief, bearing witness, and the proper name Mary — the influence of John
20 on the Qur'än seems almost conclusive.
rich SrEVETi: Dir biblischen Erzählungen im Qoran. Hildesheim: Georg Olms
1971 and Rudi Paret: Sure 57. 12 f. und das Gleichnis von den klugen und den
törichten Jungfrauen. In: Festschrift für Wilhelm Eilers. Ein Dokument der intema¬
tionalen Forschung zum 27 September 1966. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 1967,
pp. 387—90. See also Rudi Paret: Der Koran: Kimumentar und Konkordanz.
Stutgart: Kohlhammer 1971, p. 453 on 48. 29.
See Bell: The Origin of hlam, p. 140, and Georg Graf: Geschichte der
christlichen arabischen Literatur. 1. Cittä del Vaticano: Bibl. Apost. Vat. 1944 pp. 42-43.
Leben und Lehrerverzeichnis (Kitäb al-Mu'gam)
Von Heinrich Schützinger, Bonn
In memorian Otto Spies Einleitung
Dem Traditionarier Abü Ya'lä Ahmad b. 'Ali b. al-Mutannä b.
Yahyä at-TamImi al-Mausili (210/826-307/919-20' ^) kommt
innerhalb der arabischen Literaturgeschichte insofem eine Sonderstel¬
lung zu, als er der erste ist, dem — jedenfalls meines Wissens — ein soge¬
nannter Mu'gam aS-Suyvh, d.h. ein Verzeichnis seiner Lehrer in alpha¬
betischer Reihenfolge, oft einfach Kitäb al-Mu'^am genannt, zuge¬
schrieben wird. Dies bedeutet nicht, daß er wirklich der erste war, der
' Fuat Sezgin: Geschiclite des arabischen Schrifttums {GAS). 7 Bde. Leiden
1967—79, Bd. 1, 170—71; Carl Brockel.mann: Geschichte der arabischen Litte¬
ratur {GAL). 2 Grundbände (G)^ 3 Supplementbände (S), Leiden 1937-49, S 1,
258; AZ-ZiRiKLi: al-A'läm\ 10 Bde. Kairo 1373/19.54-1378/1959, Bd. 1, 164;
Kahhäla: Mu'gam al-mu'allifin. 15 Bde. Damaskus 1376/1957-1381/1961,
Bd. 2, 17-18; Ibn al-Atir: al-Kämil fi't-td rih. 12 Bde. Kairo 1303, Bd. 8, 38; ad-
Dahabl: al-'Ibar. 5 Bde. Kuwait 1960-1386/1966, Bd. 2, 134; a§- Safadi: al-
Wäß bi'l-wafayät. 10 Bde. {unvollst.) Leipzig/Wiesbaden 1931-79. (Biblio¬
theca Islamica. Bd. 6a-h, 1, o.), Bd. 7, 241; al-Yäfi'I: Mir'ät al-^anän. 4 Bde.
Haidaräbäd 1337-39, Bd. 2, 249; Tääköprüzäde: Miftäh as-sa'äda. 2 Bde.
Haidaräbäd 1328-29, Bd. 2, 16; Häggi Halifa: KaSf az-?unün. 2 Bde. Istanbul
1360/1941-1362/1943, Bd. 2, 1679; al-Bagdädl, Ismä'Il Bäää: Hadiyat al-
'ärifin.J 2 Bde. Istanbul 1951—55, ' Bd. 1, 57;T , al-Kattänl, ,Muhammad. b. Ga'far:
ar-Risäla al-mustatrafa . Damaskus 1383/1964, 71; Heinrich Sciu;tzin(jrr:
Das Kitäb al-Mu'^am des Abu Bakr al-lsmä'ili. Wiesbaden 1978. (AKM. Bd.
43,3.), 17, 112.
^ Die in GAL und GAS angefiihrten, die Biographie eines arabischen
Gelehrten betreffenden Verweisstellen innerhalb der arabischen oder euro¬
päischen Literatur werden in der dem Gelehrten hier beigegebenen Fußnote
nach Zitierung von GAL und GAS nicht mehr vermerkt. Lediglieh die Autoren-
Lexika von Zirikli und Kahhäla werden aufgeführt, auch wenn sie bei GAS
bereits genannt wurden. Hinsichtlich der beiden Autoren-Lexika wird ähnlich,
wenn auch nicht so streng verfahren wie in Bezug auf GAL und GAS.
