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Surah Al-Baqarah — 2:87

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ ۖ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ ۗ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَى أَنفُسُكُمْ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقًا كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ

Wa laqad aataynaaa Moosal Kitaaba wa qaffaynaaa mim ba'dihee bir rusuli wa aataynaaa 'Eesabna Maryamal bayyinaati wa ayyadnaahu bi roohil qudus; afakullamaa jaaa'akum rasoolum bimaa laa tahwaaa anfusukumus takbartum fafareeqan kazzabtum wa fareeqan taqtuloon

And we gave Musa the scripture and sent a succession of messengers after him. And we gave Isa, son of Maryam, clear proofs and strengthened him with the holy spirit. So whenever a messenger came to you with what your lower selves did not desire, did you grow arrogant — denying some and killing others?

Reflection

Rūḥ al-qudus, the support named for Isa, was identified by most commentators as Jibril and by others as a strengthening from God without a bearer. The verse then asks its question using the lower self as the reason for the refusal, so what decides the reception of a messenger is appetite rather than evidence. Musa, the succession after him, and Isa are compressed into one sentence.

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