19.21 – Your Lord has said, “ It is easy for Me. . . . ”
The answer of the “messenger” sent by Allah to Mary’s question, “How can I have a boy . . . ?” is different from the parallel speech of the angels at 3.47. Here there is no mention of Allah creating ‘Īsā in Mary’s womb. However, the same statement that Allah “simply says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is” appears later at verse 35. Muslim commentators have interpreted this to mean that Allah created ‘Īsā.
The Quran offers two stories of the encounter between Mary and heavenly beings, here called “Our spirit” (v. 17) and in Sūra 3 called “angels” (3.42–46). When we compare these stories to the Gospel accounts in Matthew 1 and Luke 1–2, we find two striking omissions and an influential addition. Gabriel in Luke 1 announced the birth of the “Son of God” (see discussion at Q 9.35); and Gabriel, as well as the angel in Matthew 1, specified that Mary name her child “Jesus” (Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:20–21). This omission may not seem significant, but in the Gospel accounts, the angel also gave a reason: “because he will save his people from their sins.” The Hebrew meaning of Yēshūa ‘ or Yehōshūa ‘ is “the Lord [Yahweh] saves” – a rich meaning utterly lost in the quranic name ‘Īsā.
One influential addition in the quranic stories of the encounter is the claim that Allah creates ‘Īsā (3.47). Strikingly opposite, the Gospel according to John states that “through him Jesus, the Word] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” ([John 1:3; cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2).