Interpretation of Sura Maryam (Mary) - Verse 36

36. " And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship (only) Him. This is a straight path."

Commentary

The persistence of Messiah (a.s.) on Monotheism, and his emphasis that the straight path is only this one, is an answer to the adherents of trinity as well as others. (A similar text to the abovementioned holy verse has also occurred in Sura 'A-l-i-'Imran, No. 3, verse 51, and Sura Az-Zukhruf, No. 43, verse 64).

Through introducing himself, Jesus (a.s.) said he was a servant of Allah: "…Verily I am servant of Allah …". 25 Then, the first command he received was about prayer and worship: "…and He has enjoined on me prayer…", 26 and the first program he announced was worshipping Allah: "… So worship (only) Him…". Thus taking Jesus as a Son of God is an alteration in religion which causes blasphemy.

However, this verse implies that the last word of Jesus, after introducing himself with the qualities which were previously referred to, is the subject of Monotheism, specially on the field of worship, on which he emphasized more. By this verse, Jesus (a.s.) says:

" And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship (only) Him. This is a straight path."

Thus, from very beginning of his life, Messiah (a.s.) struggled against any blasphemy, and worshipping gods of dualism and polytheism, because monotheism, and worshipping Allah, is the straight path, while the rest paths are some deviated paths. (In the Qur'an, the path of Allah and His Messenger, accompanied with worshipping Him, has been introduced as the 'straight path'.)

Notes:

25. Sura Maryam, No.19, verse 30

26. Sura Maryam, No. 19, verse 31

Adopted from the book : "The Light of the Holy Qur'an; Interpretation of Surah Maryam" by : "Sayyid Kamal Faghih Imani and a Group of Muslim Scholars"