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Jewish response
[edit]No Jewish text makes the claim that Ezra is the son of God. Book of Ezra, a Jewish text predating the time of Muhammad states in Ezra 7:1 that Ezra is the son of Seraiah. Judaism holds the idea of any person being God, or a part of God, or a mediator to God, to be heresy, and no branch of Judaism makes Ezra a son of God.[1]. Exodus Rabba 29 states, "...I am the first, I have no father; I am the last, I have no brother. Beside Me there is no God; I have no son."[2]. The belief that Ezra is the son of God has never been a tenet of Judaism.[3]
Of note is that Judaism believes that God, as the creator of time, space, and matter, is beyond them, and will not be born, die, or have a son. Judaism teaches that it is heretical for any man to claim to be God, part of God, or the literal son of God. The Jerusalem Talmud, another Jewish text predating the time of Muhammad states explicitly in (Ta'anit 2:1) : "if a man claims to be God, he is a liar.".
In Karitism, mourners use the word meharef to represent a whole range of Muslim anti-Jewish slander including the misconception that Jews considered Ezra to be the son of God. Salmon b. Yeruhim, said, "A meharef is one who reviles us for sins we have did and other which we haven't ... The latter includes the assertion that we take Ezra as the son of God."[4]
Abraham Geiger, A Jewish theologian said concerning the claim that Jews believed Ezra to be the son of God the following, "According to the assertion of Muhammad the Jews held Ezra to be the Son of God. This is certainly a mere misunderstanding which arose from the great esteem in which Ezra was undoubtedly held. This esteem is expressed in the following passage "Ezra would have been worthy to have made known the law if Moses had not come before him." Truly Muhammad sought to cast suspicion on the Jews' faith in the unity of God, and thought he had here found a good opportunity of so doing." [5]
According to the American historian and archaeologist, Charles Cutler Torrey, Muhammad made this assertion so as to claim pure monotheism for the Muslims alone, in his day.[6]
The New Encyclopedia of Islam on page 467, states, "... The reference to Ezra as the "son of God" is obscure, and can not be explained by anything in the Bible or from other sources.
Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qur'an for Bible Readers page 273, states, "This is the only text in the Quran which levels shirk against the Jews. The reference of their worship of Ezra as Allah is obscure and a mystery. Some (Muslim) commentators claim that this was a belief among the Jews of Medina, but there is no solid evidence to support this..."
Edward Henry Palmer, an expert on Eastern studies stated that, "There is no Jewish tradition whatever in support of this accusation of Muhammed's, which was probably due to his own invention of misinformation."[7]
In one of Maimonides's discussions about the relationship between Judaism and Islam he say that the Muslims lie about the Jews and say the Jews believe God has Son "And because they(Muslims) lie about us, and falsely attribute to us the statement that God has a son" [8]
- ^ Emunoth ve-Deoth, II:5
- ^ Exod. Rabba 29
- ^ http://www.contenderministries.org/islam/contradictions.php
- ^ Scripture Well: Karaite Exegetes and the Origins of the Jewish Bible, By Daniel H. Frank, pg 193
- ^ Abraham Geiger's book Judaism and Islam chapter 2 part 4
- ^ Torrey, Charles Cutler (1967) [1933]. "Allah and Islam in Ancient History". The Jewish foundation of Islam. Introd. by Franz Rosenthal. New York: KTAV. p. 72. LCCN 67018817. OCLC 921947.
- ^ Palmer, Edward Henry. "Footnote on 177:1". The Qur'ân, part I (Sacred Books of the East volume 6), Palmer edition [1880]. Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
The Moslem tradition is that Ezra, after being dead 100 years, was raised to life, and dictated from memory the whole of the Jewish Scriptures which had been lost during the captivity, and that the Jews said he could not have done this unless he had been the son of God. There is no Jewish tradition whatever in support of this accusation of Mohammed's, which probably was entirely due to his own invention or to misinformation.
- ^ Shapiro, Marc B. (Summer 1993). "Islam and the halakhah". Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life & Thought. 42 (167). New York: American Jewish Congress. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
The Ishmaelites are not at all idolaters; [idolatry] has long been severed from their mouths and hearts; and they attribute to God a proper unity, a unity concerning which there is no doubt. And because they lie about us, and falsely attribute to us the statement that God has a son…
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