[Pooya/Ali Commentary 3:49] Isa was sent as "a messenger to the children of Bani Israil". Please refer to Matthew 15: 22 to 26 wherein it is also stated that Isa had declared: "I was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israil, and to them alone". As per Matthew 10: 5 and 6, Isa commanded his twelve disciples: "Do not take the road to gentile lands, and do not enter a Samaritan town; but go to the lost sheep of the house of Israil (to proclaim the message)". Modern Christian scholars have to acknowledge the advice of Isa, and his earliest disciples, not to treat his message as universal. "The earlier group of disciples, it is true, did not appreciate the universality of the teaching of Jesus, nor did Jesus seek converts outside Israil". (Encyclopaedia Britannica 29 volumes 11th edition-London) A miracle (a credential of prophethood) is an extraordinary occurrence which cannot be produced by any natural agency but only by the direct will of Allah. It may be either above natural law or contrary to it or else independent of it. Once the existence of a "wajib ul wujud" (Allah) is proved as a fact (see commentary of al Baqarah: 255) there is no a priori impediment in believing that He can perform whatever He wills in any manner that He deems fit and necessary. The possibility of miracles can never be questioned by a theist, because a miracle is only an exercise of free-will on the part of the creator and author of the creation with all its laws-a fulfilment of His purpose in a way that appears novel to the onlookers (who can never know that which He knows and controls). It does sometimes happen that the public mind is led to the acceptance of the divine truths not by any rational arguments or moral and spiritual evidence but only by the miraculous manifestations of the divine power at the hands of His approved and appointed representatives to generate conviction in men of average intelligence. So Isa, by Allah's permission, formed, of clay, a thing like a bird and breathed in to it (and Allah made the thing alive), cured blindness and leprosy, put life into the dead and told the people their most secret affairs. Matthew 8: 3, 9 : 18, 19, 23 to 25, 27 to 30; and Mark 8: 22 to 25; and Luke 7 :12 to 15; Luke 17: 12 to 14; and John 9: 1 to 7, 11:11 to 44 refer to the miracles mentioned in this verse. As has been said in the commentary of verse 3 of this surah, the four gospels of the New Testament are not the Injil revealed to Isa but a collection of traditions pertaining to Isa, referring to his activities in Galilee, Jerusalem and other habitations of the Jews; therefore, it is not free from the bias, pride and prejudice of the writers of the four gospels. The Jews and the Christians were always in a state of hostility. Blasphemies have been invented and false reporting made by both of them to glorify their heroes and discredit other's leaders. So whatever is mentioned in their books of traditions cannot be true, and that which has been omitted cannot be rejected as false. For example, the turning of water into wine for a marriage party by Isa, mentioned as the first miracle of Isa, is, by all standards, a fabricated story; or the way in which Isa is reported to have rebuked his mother: "Woman ! what have I to do with you". How can a prophet of Allah say such words to his mother whom Allah had chosen and purified? The Old and the New Testaments are a mixture of truth and falsehood. The Quran, the Holy Prophet and his holy Ahlul Bayt have correctly presented Isa as the holy spirit of Allah and as an infallible prophet of Allah. (See notes "The Tawrat" and "The Injil" at the end of al Ma-idah). In the days of Isa the people to whom he was particularly sent (the Jews) could not be effectively convinced with the help of arguments based on reason because of their ready inclination to believe in anything which confounded their raw and undeveloped intelligence. For example, magic and witchcraft excited their imagination. More often than not, they responded to suggestions made through either of them, therefore, the purpose of the miraculous manifestation of the divine powers at his hands was to make them believe in him and in that which he preached, as the prophet of Allah. The Holy Prophet, in theory and practice, was endowed with the extraordinary power to perform all or any of the miracles manifested by all the prophets, from Adam to Isa. The Holy Prophet did not have to resort to miracles on account of the following reasons: (1) His matchless and ideal character before announcing his ministry-His life in Makka convinced the people, among whom he was sent, that he was trustworthy and truthful; therefore, they used to address him as al-amin and al-sadiq. (2) His noble lineage-he was a direct descendant of prophet Ibrahim. (3) He had an everlasting miracle with him-the Quran. And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a surah like it; and call on your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful. But if you do not do it and you will never do it, then, safeguard yourselves with full awareness of divine laws from the fire whose fuel is men and stones-prepared for the unbelievers. (Al Baqarah: 23 and 24) (4) The Holy Prophet, the last messenger of Allah was commissioned to convey the final divine message and to invite the people to worship one Allah, at a time when the human mind was on the threshold of the era of finding out truth through reason and contemplation. The human mind was ready to listen to rational arguments and reflect, think and judge. Awesome and wondrous manifestations, to bring home to people the truth, were a thing of the past. So the Holy Prophet, in spite of having all the powers to manifest miracles, called mankind unto the way of the Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation (words of good advice), and reasoned with the people in the best way, as has been asked by the Lord in verse 125 of al Nahl. As stated in al Baqarah: 118 (Please refer to its commentary) not only the Holy Prophet, but also the divinely chosen Imams had performed miracles, whenever they deemed it necessary and thought that it would serve a useful purpose, but refused to put them to use as an answer to the challenge of any antagonistic individual or group, who even after witnessing the same would not accept the truth. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: It is logical to conclude (after rejecting the concocted insinuation of motivated reporters of the traditions, that the Holy Prophet was illiterate, an unimaginable defamation of a prophet of Allah, but held as true by the majority of his followers, except shias) that when Isa, a follower of the Holy Prophet, sent only to the children of Bani Israil, was taught the book and the wisdom by Allah Himself, the Holy Prophet, who came to guide and warn the whole mankind, in all ages, must have been and, in fact, was thoroughly purified from the dirt of ignorance, and was endowed with divine wisdom, and knew not only to read and write but had total and complete knowledge of the book of creation, the book of legislation and all the holy scriptures revealed to other prophets before him. The Holy Quran, in verses 1 to 4 of al Rahman, says that the rahman Himself not only taught the rahmatun lil alamin the entire process of creation but also blessed him with the faculties of appropriating knowledge and giving expression to that which he was taught, with complete and perfect control. Although the ultimate agent for giving shape or character to a thing, in the domains of creation and legislation, is the will of Allah, yet His approved intermediaries are also allowed to take action. Therefore it was neither blasphemy nor transgressing the limits when Isa said: "I will create a bird, out of clay, for you", or "I will heal the blind and the leper", or "I will raise the dead", because he did all that he said by Allah's permission. On the other hand, it is a blasphemy to belie the person on whom Allah has bestowed such powers, or to whom He has delegated His authority to act on His behalf. According to verse 69 of al Nahl there is healing for mankind in that which comes out from the abdomen of the bee (honey). So, there is no wonder, if the soil of Karbala, the resting place of His devotee, Imam Husayn, is used to cure and heal many a disease (known as khaki shifa). What has been given to whom by Him can be found out by referring to authentic sources.