Maryam bint Imran () is revered in
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
as the only woman named in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
, which refers to her seventy times and explicitly identifies her as the greatest woman to have ever lived. In the Quran, her story is related in three
Meccan surah
The Meccan surat are, according to the timing and contextual background of supposed revelation (''asbāb al-nuzūl''), the chronologically earlier chapters (''suwar'', singular ''sūrah'') of the Qur'an. The traditional chronological order attribu ...
s (19, 21, 23) and four
Medinan surah
The Madni Surahs (Surah Madaniyah) or Madani chapters of the Quran are the latest 28 Surahs that, according to Islamic tradition, were revealed at Medina after Muhammad's hijrat from Mecca. The community was larger and more developed, as opposed t ...
s (3, 4, 5, 66). The nineteenth
Surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
,
Maryam, is named after her. The Quran refers to Mary more often than the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
.
![MaryLineage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/MaryLineage.JPG)
![Virgin Mary and Jesus (old Persian miniature)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Virgin_Mary_and_Jesus_%28old_Persian_miniature%29.jpg)
According to the Quran, Mary's parents had been praying for a child. Their request was eventually accepted by God, and Mary's mother became pregnant. Her father Imran had died before the child was born. After her birth, she was taken care of by her maternal uncle
Zechariah. According to the Quran, Mary received messages from God through the
archangel Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
. God informed Mary that she had miraculously conceived a child through the intervention of the
divine spirit, though she was still a virgin. The name of her child is chosen by God, being
Isa (
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
), who would be the "anointed one", the
Promised Messiah. As such, orthodox Islamic belief has upheld the
virgin birth of Jesus
The virgin birth of Jesus is the Christian doctrine that Jesus was conceived by his mother, Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit and without sexual intercourse. It is mentioned only in and , and the modern scholarly consensus is that the ...
,
[Stowasser, Barbara Freyer, “Mary”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān'', General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC.] and although the classical Islamic thinkers never dwelt on the question of the
perpetual virginity of Mary
The perpetual virginity of Mary is a Christian doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ. In Western Christianity, the Catholic Church adheres to the doctrine, as do some Lutherans, Anglica ...
,
it was generally agreed in traditional Islam that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life, with the Quran's mention of Mary's purification “from the touch of men” implying perpetual virginity in the minds of many of the most prominent Islamic fathers.
Mary is believed to have been chosen by God, above all "the women of the worlds" in Islam.
She is referred to by various titles in the Quran, with the most prominent being ''al-Qānitah''.
Family
The
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
calls Mary "the daughter of
Imran" and it mentions that people called her a "sister of
Aaron (Harun)". Her mother, mentioned in the Quran only as the
wife of Imran
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
, prayed for a child and eventually conceived.
According to
al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
, Mary's mother was named
Hannah (), and
Imran (), her husband, died before the child was born.
Expecting the child to be male, Hannah vowed to dedicate him to isolation and service in the
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
.
However, Hannah bore a daughter instead, and named her Maryam.
In the Quran
Mary is mentioned frequently in the Quran, and her narrative occurs consistently from the earliest chapters, revealed in
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, to the latest verses, revealed in
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
.
Birth
The birth of Mary is narrated in the Quran with references to her father as well as her mother. Mary's father is called ''Imran''. He is the equivalent of
Joachim
Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...
in Christian tradition. Her mother, according to
al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
, is called ''Hannah'',
which is the same name as in Christian tradition (
Saint Anne
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
). Muslim literature narrates that Imran and his wife were old and childless and that, one day, the sight of a bird in a tree feeding her young aroused Anne's desire for a child. She prayed to God to fulfill her desire and vowed, if her prayer was accepted, that her child would be dedicated to the service of God.
According to Iraqi scholar and translator,
N.J. Dawood Nessim Joseph Dawood (27 August 1927 – 20 November 2014) was an Iraqi Jewish translator, who is best known for his translation of the Quran.
Life
Nessim Joseph Dawood was born in Baghdad to a Jewish family. His family name was Yehuda, but in the ...
, the Quran confuses
Mary mother of Jesus with
Mary the sister of Moses, when it refers to the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as Imran, which is the
Arabic version of Amram, who is shown to be the father of Moses in
Exodus 6
Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera ( — Hebrew language, Hebrew for "and I appeared," the incipit, first word that God in Judaism, God speaks in the ''parashah'', in ) is the fourteenth weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Judaism, Jewish c ...
:20. Dawood, in a note to
Quran 19:28, where Mary the Mother of Jesus is referred to as the "Sister of Aaron", and
Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
was the brother of Mary sister of Moses, states: "It Appears that Miriam, Aaron's sister, and Maryam (Mary), mother of Jesus, were according to the Koran, one and the same person." Although
Islamic studies
Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...
of the beginning of the 20th century tended to see this as a mistake in genealogy, in more recent Islamic Studies of the 21st century the general consensus is, according to
Angelika Neuwirth
Angelika Neuwirth (born 1943) is a German Islamic studies scholar and professor of Quranic studies at Freie University in Berlin.
Quranic education
Born in Nienburg, Lower Saxony, she studied Islamic studies, semitic studies and classical phil ...
, Nicolai Sinai & Michael Marx, that the Quran does not make a genealogical error but instead makes use of
Typology
Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
. This is, following Wensincks conclusion, supported by the figurative speech of the Quran and the Islamic tradition: Similarly, Stowasser concludes that "to confuse Mary the mother of Jesus with Mary the sister of Moses and Aaron in Torah is completely wrong and in contradiction to the sound Hadith and the Qur'anic text as we have established".
![Khalili Collection Islamic Art mss 0620 crop Mary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Khalili_Collection_Islamic_Art_mss_0620_crop_Mary.jpg)
The Quranic account of Mary's birth does not affirm an
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
for Mary as Islam does not accept the doctrine of
original sin
Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...
, or an inherited fault in humans, as it is found in Christianity.
Early years
The Quran does not, specifically, point to the fact that Mary lived and grew up in a temple as the word miḥ'rāb in
Quran 3:36 in its literal meaning refers to a private chamber or a public/private prayer chamber. The definitive idea of Mary growing up in a temple derived via external literature (i.e. see the narration below by Ja'far al-Sadiq). She was placed under the care of the prophet
Zakariya, the husband of Hannah's sister and Mary's maternal uncle and caretaker.
As often as Zechariah entered Mary's prayer chamber, he found her provided with food and he would ask her where she received it from, to which she would reply that God provides to whom He wills. Scholars have debated as to whether this refers to miraculous food that Mary received from God or whether it was normal food. Those in favor of the former view state that it had to be miraculous food, as Zechariah being a
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
, would have known that God is the provider of all sustenance and thus would not have questioned Mary, if it was normal food.
Imam
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...
narrates that when Maryam was grown, she would go into the mihrab and put on a covering so no one saw her. Zechariah went into the mihrab and found that she had summer fruit in the winter and winter fruit in the summer. He asked "From whence is this?" She said, "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account"
:37[
]
Annunciation
The virgin birth of Jesus is supremely important in Islam, as one of the most important miracles of God. The first explicit mention of an annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
foreshadowing the birth of Jesus is in Quran 19:20 where Mary asks Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
(Jibril
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
) how she will be able to conceive, when no man has touched her. Gabriel's reply assures Mary that for God all things are easy and that Jesus's virgin birth will be a sign for mankind. The birth is later referred in Quran 66:12, where the Quran states that Mary remained "pure", while God allowed a life to shape itself in Mary's womb. A third mention of the annunciation is in Q3:42–43, where Mary is also given the glad tidings that she has been chosen above all the women of creation.
Commentators on the Quran remark on the last verse that Mary was as close to a perfect woman as there could be, and she was devoid of almost all failings.[Bosworth, C.E. et al., ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Volume VI: Mahk-Mid, Brill: 1991, p. 629] Although Islam honors numerous women, including Hawwa
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
, Hagar
Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to he ...
, Sarah
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...
, Asiya
Asiya bint Muzahim ( ar, آسِيَة بِنْت مُزَاحِم, Āsiya bint Muzāḥim) was, according to the Qur'an and Islamic tradition, the wife of the Pharaoh of the Exodus and adoptive mother of Moses, identified as Bithiah in the Je ...
, Khadijah
Khadija, Khadeeja or Khadijah ( ar, خديجة, Khadīja) is an Arabic feminine given name, the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In 1995, it was one of the three most popular Arabic feminine names in th ...
, Fatimah
Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...
, Ayesha, Hafsa many commentators followed this verse in the absolute sense, and agreed that Mary was the greatest woman of all time. Other commentators, however, while maintaining that Mary was the "queen of the saints", interpreted this verse to mean that Mary was the greatest woman of that time and that Fatimah, Khadijah and Asiya were equally great. According to exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
and literature, Gabriel appeared to Mary, who was still young in age, in the form of a well-made man with a "shining face" and announced to her the birth of Jesus. After her immediate astonishment, she was reassured by the angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
's answer that God has the power to do anything. The details of the conception are not discussed during these angelic visits, but elsewhere the Quran states ( Quran 21:91) and 66:12) that God breathed "His Spirit" into Mary while she was chaste.[''Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians'' by F. E. Peters 2005 Princeton University Press , p. 23.][''Holy people of the world: a cross-cultural encyclopedia, Volume 1'' by Phyllis G. Jestice 2004 pages 558–559]
Virgin birth
According to the Quran, Mary was chosen twice by the Lord: "O Mary! Verily Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds" ( Quran 3:42); and the first choosing was her selection with glad tidings given to Imran. The second was that she became pregnant without a man, so in this regard, she was chosen over all other women in the world.[
The Quran narrates the virgin birth of Jesus numerous times. In chapter 19 (Maryam), verses ('' ayat'') 17–21, the annunciation is given, followed by the virgin birth in due course. In Islam, Jesus is called the "spirit of God" because he was through the action of the spirit, but that belief does not include the doctrine of his pre-existence, as it does in Christianity. Quran 3:47 also supports the virginity of Mary, revealing that "no man has touched er. Quran 66:12] states that Jesus was born when the spirit of God breathed upon Mary, whose body was chaste.[''Understand My Muslim People'' by Abraham Sarker 2004 page 127]
According to the Quran, the following conversation transpired between the angel Gabriel and Mary when he appeared to her in the form of a man:
And mention, Muhammad in the Book he story ofMary, when she withdrew from her family to a place toward the east. And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen. Then We sent to her Our spirit, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man. She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, o leave me if you should be fearing of Allah." He said, "I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you a pure boy." She said, "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" He said, "Thus t will be your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter lreadydecreed.' 9:16-21
The Quran's narrative of the virgin birth is somewhat different from that in the New Testament. The Quran states that when the pains of childbirth came upon Mary, she held onto a nearby palm tree, at which point a voice came from "beneath the (palm-tree)" or "beneath her", which said " "Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; "And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee." The Quran goes on to describe that Mary vowed not to speak to any man on that day, as God was to make Jesus, who Muslims believe spoke in the cradle, perform his first miracle. The Quran goes on to narrate that Mary then brought Jesus to the temple, where immediately she began to be taunted by all the men, excluding Zechariah, who believed in the virgin birth. The Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
questioned Mary how she came to be with child whilst unmarried, to which Mary pointed to the baby Jesus. It was then that, according to the Quran, the infant Jesus began to speak in the cradle, and spoke of his prophecy for the first time.
According to Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...
, Jesus the son of Mary used to cry intensely as a child, so that Mary was at wits end regarding his profuse crying. He said to her, "Get some of the bark of that tree, make a tonic from it and feed me with it." When he drank it, he cried intensely. Mary said, "What sort of prescription did you give me?" He said, "Oh my mother! Knowledge of prophet-hood and weakness of childhood."[
The ]Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dy ...
Ismaili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
jurist Qadi al-Nu’man holds that the virgin birth of Jesus is meant to be interpreted symbolically. In his interpretation, Mary was the follower (''lāḥiq''), of the Imam Joachim (‘Imran). However, when Joachim realized that she was not suited for the ''Imamah
{{expand Arabic, date=April 2021
The term imamate or ''imamah'' ( ar, إمامة, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate, in Sunni doctrine the caliphate
:* Naqshb ...
'', he passed it to Zechariah, who then passed it to John the Baptist. Meanwhile, Mary received spiritual inspiration (''mādda'') from God, revealing that he would invite a man o the faith
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
who would become an exalted Speaker (''nāṭiq'') of a revealed religion (''sharīʿa''). According to al-Nu’man, the verses “She said: Lord! How can I have a child when no man has touched me?” (Quran 3:47) and “neither have I been unchaste” (Quran 19:20) are symbolic of Mary's saying, “How can I conduct the invitation (''daʿwa'') when the Imam of the Time has not given me permission to do so?” and “Nor shall I be unfaithful by acting against his command”, respectively. To this, a celestial hierarch replies “Such is God. He creates .e., causes to passwhat he wills” (Quran 3:47).
Islamic tradition
Mary is one of the most honored figures in Islamic theology, with Muslims viewing her as one of the most righteous women to have lived as per the Quranic verse, with reference to the angelic salutation during the annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
, "O Mary, God has chosen you, and purified you; He has chosen you above all the women of creation.". A minority of Muslims also view her as a prophet. Muslim women look upon her as an example and are known to visit both Muslim and Christian shrines. Muslim tradition, like Christian, honors her memory at Matariyyah near Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, and in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Muslims also visit the ''Bath of Mary'' in Jerusalem, where Muslim tradition recounts Mary once bathed, and this location was visited at times by women who were seeking a cure for barrenness. Some plants have also been named after Mary, such as ''Maryammiah'', which, as tradition recounts, acquired its sweet scent when Mary wiped her forehead with its leaves. Another plant is ''Kaff Maryam'' (''Anastatica
''Anastatica'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the family ''Brassicaceae'' containing the single species ''Anastatica hierochuntica''. The plant is a small gray annual herb that rarely grows above high, and bears minute white flowers. It is a ...
''), which was used by some Muslim women to help in pregnancy, and the water of this plant was given to women to drink while praying.
Islamic literature does not recount many instances from Mary's later life, and her assumption
Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
Assumption may also refer to:
Places
* Assumption, Alberta, Canada
* Assumption, Illinois, United States
** Assumption Town ...
is not present in any Muslim records. Nevertheless, some contemporary Muslim scholars, an example being Martin Lings
Martin Lings (24 January 1909 – 12 May 2005), also known as Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, was an English writer, Islamic scholar, and philosopher. A student of the Swiss metaphysician Frithjof Schuon and an authority on the work of William Sh ...
, accepted the assumption as being a historical event from Mary's life. One of the lesser-known events which are recorded in Muslim literature is that of Mary visiting Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
with John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
and Thaddeus
Thaddeus (Latin ''Thaddaeus'', Ancient Greek Θαδδαῖος ''Thaddaĩos'', from Aramaic תדי ''Ṯaday'') is a male given name.
As of the 1990 Census, ''Thaddeus'' was the 611th most popular male name in the United States, while ''Thad'', ...
(Jude), the disciples ('' al-Hawāriyūn'') of Jesus, during the reign of Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
.[Bosworth, C.E. et al., ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Volume VI: Mahk-Mid, Brill: 1991, p. 631]
Qadi al-Nu'man
Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥayyūn al-Tamīmiyy ( ar, النعمان بن محمد بن منصور بن أحمد بن حيون التميمي, generally known as al-Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān () or as ibn ...
, the twelfth century Ismaili Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
jurist and luminary, in his book on the esoteric interpretation of faith, ''Asās al-Ta'wīl'', talks about the spiritual birth (''milad al-bātin'') of Jesus, as an interpretation of his story of physical birth (''milad al-zāhir''). He says that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a metaphor for someone who nurtured and instructed Jesus, rather than physically giving birth to him. He also pointed out that Zachariah ( The Imam of the Time) appointed Mary as one of his proofs (sing. ''hujja
A term used in Shi'i terminology, "hujja" means "proof mplied: proof of God" It is usually used to refer to a single individual in any given human era who represents God's "proof" to humanity.http://iranica.com/articles/hojjat. The hujja is ...
'').
Titles
*''Qānitah'': Mary is so-called in Quran 66:12. The Arabic term implies the meaning, not only of constant submission to God but also absorption in prayer and invocation, meanings that coincides with the image of Mary spending her childhood in the temple of prayer. In this way, Mary personifies prayer and contemplation in Islam.
*''Siddiqah'': ''She who confirms the truth'' or ''She who has faith''. Mary is called ''Siddiqah'' twice in the Quran ( Q5:73–75 and Q66:12). The term has also been translated, ''She who believes sincerely completely''.
*''Sājidahا'': ''She who prostrates to God in worship''. The Quran states: "O Mary! Worship your Lord devoutly: prostrate yourself". While in Sujud
Sujūd ( ar, سُجود, ), or sajdah (, ), is the act of low bowing or prostration to God facing the ''qiblah'' (direction of the Kaaba at Mecca). It is usually done in standardized prayers (salah). The position involves kneeling and bowing t ...
, a Muslim is to praise God and glorify Him. In this motion, which Muslims believe to be derived from Marian nature, hands, knees, and the forehead touch the ground together.
*''Rāki’ahا'': ''She who bows down to God in worship''. The Quran states: "O Mary! Bow down in prayer with those men, who bow down." The command was repeated by angels only to Mary, according to the Muslim view. Ruku'
Rukūʿ ( ar, رُكوع, ) can refer to either of two things in Islam:
* The act of belt-low bowing in standardized prayers, where the backbone should be in rest, before straightening up to go for sujud (full earth-low bowing).
* A paragr ...
in Muslim prayer during prayer has been derived from Mary's practice.
*''Tāhirah'': ''She who was purified''.
*''Mustafiahا'': ''She who was chosen''. The Quran states: "O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you and again he has chosen you above all women of all nations of the worlds".
*''Sa’imah'': ''She who fasts''. Mary is reported to fast one-half of a year in some Muslim traditions.
Many other names of Mary can be found in various other books and religious collections. In Hadith, she has been referred to by names such as ''Batul'', ''Adhraa (''Ascetic Virgin''), and ''Marhumah'' (''Enveloped in God's Mercy'').
Legacy
Mosques named after Mary:
# Mary Mother of Jesus Mosque in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria, Australia.
# Mosque Maryam (Mary), the Nation of Islam National Center, Chicago, IL
# Qal'bu Maryam Women's Mosque (Heart of Mary), Berkeley, CA
# Maryam Umm Eisa (Mary Mother of Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
# Mariam Al-Batool Mosque
Mariam Al-Batool Mosque ( ar, مسجد مريم البتول, lit. "The Virgin Mary Mosque", also known as Paola Mosque or Corradino Mosque) is a mosque located in Paola, Malta. The first stone of the mosque was laid by Libyan leader Muammar Gadda ...
(Virgin Mary) in Paola, Malta
Paola ( mt, Raħal Ġdid, it, Casal Nuovo, both meaning "New Town") is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with 8,706 inhabitants as of 2019. The town is a commercial centre in the Southern Harbour area of Malta, about 5 km from th ...
# Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
(Ahmadiyyah
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
) Mosque in Galway, Ireland
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on t ...
.
Gallery
File:Painting at Tomb of Mary.JPG, Wall painting at Tomb of Mary
File:Tomb of the Virgin Mary. Altar.jpg, Inside of the Tomb of Mary
File:Outside View, tomb of Mary.JPG, Outside view the Tomb of Mary
See also
* Jesus in Islam
In Islam, Jesus ( ar, عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ, lit=Isa (name), Isa, son of Mary in Islam, Maryam, translit=ʿĪsā ibn Maryam) is believed to be the penultimate Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophet and messenger of God i ...
* Surah Maryam
* ''Saint Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
'' – Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian film depicting the life of Mary
References
External links
Our Lady and Islam: Heaven's Peace Plan
an article by Father Ladis J. Cizik, Blue Army National Executive Director. Part o
All About Mary
an encyclopedic tool for information on Mary, the Mother of Christ, compiled by the University of Dayton's Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, the world's largest repository of books, artwork and artifacts devoted to Mary and a pontifical center of research and scholarship.
The Qur'an and Mary
part o
All About Mary
an encyclopedic tool for information on Mary, the Mother of Christ, compiled by the University of Dayton's Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute.
By Juan Galvan
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Islam and women
*
New Testament people in Islam
People of the Quran