Quote from: Ahmad Bilal on November 29, 2012, 12:49:39 PM
Peace.
We can speculate, and many people have speculated, for years regarding "how" Mary, if a virgin, was able to conceive a child. In any case, the Qur'aan is not explicit on this issue - nor does it even explicitly state that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus! For all we know, Jesus was conceived just like (nearly) every other human being on the planet - through sexual intercourse. Hell, I've even talked to certain Muslims who don't believe that Jesus was a real person at all; they believe that his story, as detailed in the Qur'aan, is a parable derived from the Bible, and Mary and Jesus are merely used as representations of something else. According to them, his story is relayed in the Qur'aan merely with the intent of sending a message to Christians who believe(d) in him. Are those people correct? To date, there's no historical proof (outside of established religious doctrine) that Jesus ever existed, especially not in the role designated to him by the Bible and Qur'aan. So, ultimately, we don't know.
If a man may or may not have existed in reality, then of what significance is it to establish a concept of his so-called miraculous conception? That's like arguing about the Easter Bunny's favorite color!
If Jesus was an actual, historical person, then we know that he was obviously born of a man and a woman. Was this woman (e.g. Mary) a virgin at the time of his conception? We don't know, and we'll probably never know. Given the circumstances, that answer should be good enough. Otherwise, we're only guessing and speculating. The Qur'aan speaks on that subject too:
"And if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from God's way. They follow nothing but assumption, and they only guess." (Q. 6:116)
Peace,
Ahmad
Very interesting post indeed @Ahmad Bilal!
I tend to agree with you.
I also think that Jesus is a symbolic figure, that's the reason why in the Gospels they refer to him as "a son of man" and as a "son of God", both metaphors indicating human-animal and human-spiritual nature. Mary is also a symbol of a chaste woman.
To be on the Straight Path and be nearer to God one has to get rid of his/her lower/animal nature and ego, and become more spiritual, specially since in the Hereafter there will be no body at all, so one should start preparing himself here...
PS
O, and I loved the quotation in red at the end!