Did a single angel come to Mary or multiple angels?
Question
Surah 19:19 states that a single angel came to Mary, while Surah 3:45 mentions multiple angels. Why this contradiction?
Answer
The questions raised about the Qur’an by Christians often follow this pattern.
Imagine a scenario where the Chief Minister, along with several ministers and leaders from various parties, attends an event. When describing this event:
- One could say: “The Chief Minister attended the event.” — This is true.
- Alternatively, one could say: “The Chief Minister and the ministers attended the event.” — This is also true.
- One could also say: “The ministers attended the event.” — This statement is true as well.
- Another possibility is: “All the party leaders attended the event.” — This is equally valid.
Beyond this, you could also say that the public attended the event, or that the police or intelligence officers attended. All of these statements are true.
A contradiction arises only if accepting one statement means rejecting the others. In this case, no statement invalidates the others.
If multiple angels come and only one of them speaks, it is perfectly accurate to say that a single angel spoke.
Similarly, if multiple angels speak, that is also valid. Even if one angel speaks on behalf of all, it implies that all have spoken collectively.
Consider this scenario: Five people go to meet the Prime Minister. If one person presents a request, you could say, “That person spoke to the Prime Minister.”
You could also say, “All five spoke.”
This is the context for the verses mentioned.
The verses express two truths in two different ways — a simple fact with no contradiction.