Maryam 19:36

The issue

Concerning the speaker in the verse who says, “God is my Lord,” al-Rāzī mentions two opinions:

The speaker is Muhammad.

The speaker is Jesus, as the verse starts with “and” following “Verily, I am a servant of God; He has brought me the Book” (verse 30). Such an opinion suggests that the speaker is saying “I am the servant of Allah, and he is my lord and your lord”.

These two opinions are problematic. Regarding the first opinion, would it not be better rhetoric to have a clear verse that the reader would understand from its context that the speaker is Muhammad rather than leave the speaker anonymous? The second opinion does not agree with the context of the verse; its text does not allow for the saying to be attributed to Jesus. In verses 34 and 35 the speaker is someone else other than Jesus, and the speaker is the same in verse 36. Therefore, attributing the saying to Jesus here is not possible.