I was discussing with a group of people about some issue, and Allah knows best that it is a very straightforward issue. It is: was `Isa ibn Maryam one of the children of Adam, or was he like Adam in that Allah created him directly? My answer to them was that he was born; the Qur’an attributes him to Maryam, and Maryam was descended from `Imran, `Imran was descended from Ya`qub, Ya`qub was descended from Nuh, and Nuh was descended from Adam. But then they said that offspring can only be attributed to men. I hope that you can explain the correct view.
Firstly:
Allah’s Prophet `Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) is one of the Messengers of strong will, and all of the Messengers are humans and sons of Adam. He is descended from Adam, Nuh and Ibrahim (peace be upon them), and we do not know of any difference of opinion concerning that among the Muslims.
Allah, may He be Exalted says of Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him:
{We bestowed upon him Is-haq and Ya`qub, both of whom We guided; before him, We guided Nuh, and among his progeny, [We guided] Dawud, Sulayman, Ayyub, Yusuf, Musa and Harunn. Thus do We reward those who do good.
And [We guided] Zakariya, Yahya, `Isa and Ilyas; each was among the righteous.
And [We guided] Isma`il, Alyasa`, Yunus and Lut; each of them We favoured above all other people [of their own times]}[al-An`am 6:84-86].
This passage states that `Isa (peace be upon him) is one of the descendants of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) or of Nuh, because regarding the pronoun in the phrase {and among his progeny} it was said that it refers to Nuh, because he is the closest name mentioned, or it was said that it refers to Ibrahim, because these verses are speaking about him.
Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Mentioning ` Isa (peace be upon him) among the descendants of Ibrahim – or of Nuh, according to the other view – indicates that the children of daughters may be included as the descendants or progeny of men, because the only reason why `Isa (peace be upon him) is attributed to Ibrahim is because of his mother Maryam (peace be upon her), as he had no father.
Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Abu Harb ibn Abi’l-Aswad said: Al-Hajjaj sent for Yahya ibn Ya`mur and said: I have heard that you claim that al-Hasan and al-Husayn are among the progeny of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and that you have found evidence for that in the book of Allah, but I have read it from beginning to end, and I have not found evidence. He said: Do you not read Surat al-An`am: {and among his progeny, [We guided] Dawud [and] Sulayman … and Yahya [and] `Isa}? He said: Yes, indeed. He said: Isn’t `Isa one of the progeny of Ibrahim, even though he had no father? He said: You are right.
Hence, if a man leaves a bequest for his descendants, or establishes a waqf (endowment) for his descendants, or gives a gift to them, the children of his daughters are included among them.(Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3/298).
Moreover, Adam (peace be upon him) is the father of humanity, and `Isa (peace be upon him) is a human.
In the hadith about intercession, it says: “On the Day of Resurrection, the believers will be detained for so long that they will become worried, and they will say: Let as ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord, so that He may allow us to move on. So they will come to Adam and will say: You are Adam, the father of mankind…” Narrated by al-Bukhari, 7440. According to another version also narrated by him (7516): “You are Adam, the father of humanity…”
Secondly:
With regard to the verse in which Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{The likeness of `Isa before Allah is as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was} [Al ‘Imran 3:59],
What Allah intends here is to establish proof against those disbelievers who claim that `Isa is the son of Allah because he was born without a father. Therefore Allah explained to them that the fact that he was born without a father is one of the signs of Allah’s Lordship, might and oneness – may He be Glorified – as He created Adam without a father or a mother.
Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be Exalted, says: {The likeness of `Isa before Allah is as the likeness of Adam } in terms of Allah’s might, as He created him without a father; {is as the likeness of Adam}, for Allah created him without either a father or a mother; rather He created him from dust, then He said to him: “Be,” and he was. It is more appropriate that the One Who created Adam should also be able to create `Isa. If it is befitting to claim that `Isa was the “son of God” because he was created without a father, then it is more befitting to make the same claim about Adam. But it is known according to scholarly consensus that this claim is false, so their claim about `Isa is even more false and is clearly baseless. But the Lord, may He be Glorified and Exalted, wanted to show His might to His creation, when He created Adam from neither male nor female, and He created Hawwa’ from a male without a female, and he created `Isa from a female without a male, and He created the rest of humanity from both a male and a female. Hence Allah, may He be Exalted, says in Surat Maryam:
{We will make him a sign to humankind}[Maryam 19:21].
End quote from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 2/49.
See also question no. 10277.
And Allah knows best.
