The Quran

116

وَإِذ قالَ اللَّهُ يا عيسَى ابنَ مَريَمَ أَأَنتَ قُلتَ لِلنّاسِ اتَّخِذوني وَأُمِّيَ إِلٰهَينِ مِن دونِ اللَّهِ ۖ قالَ سُبحانَكَ ما يَكونُ لي أَن أَقولَ ما لَيسَ لي بِحَقٍّ ۚ إِن كُنتُ قُلتُهُ فَقَد عَلِمتَهُ ۚ تَعلَمُ ما في نَفسي وَلا أَعلَمُ ما في نَفسِكَ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلّامُ الغُيوبِ

Muhammad Asad

AND LO! God said:¹ "O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, 'Worship me and my mother as deities beside God'?" [Jesus] answered: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! It would not have been possible for me to say what I had no right to [say]! Had I said this, Thou wouldst indeed have known it! Thou knowest all that is within myself, whereas I know not what is in Thy Self. Verily, it is Thou alone who fully knowest all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception.

Sc., "after Jesus' death": this is fully evident from Jesus' subsequent reference, in the past tense, to his own death ("since Thou hast caused me to die") in verse 117. On the other hand, the verb qala (lit., "He said") can also have the meaning of "He will say" (see note 141 below).