Mary in Islam
Maryam bint Imran (Arabic: مَرْيَم بِنْت عِمْرَان, romanized: Maryam bint ʿImrān, lit. 'Mary, daughter of Imran') is revered in Islam. The Qur'an refers to her seventy times and explicitly identifies her as the greatest woman to have ever lived.[1][2][3] In the Quran, her story is related in three Meccan surahs (19, 21, 23) and four Medinan surahs (3, 4, 5, 66). The nineteenth Surah, Maryam, is named after her. Moreover, she is the only woman named in the Quran.[4]
This article is about Mary in Islam. For other uses, see Saint Mary (disambiguation) and Virgin Mary (disambiguation).
al-Qānitah (the Woman who submits to God)
al-Sājidah (the Woman who prostrates to God)
al-Rāki’ah (the Woman who bows to God)
al-Ṣa’ima (the Woman who fasts)
al-Ṭāhirah (the Purified)
al-Ṣiddīqah (the Truthful)
al-Mustafia (the Chosen)
c. 20 BCE
c. 100–120 CE
Mary's Tomb, Kidron Valley (possibly)
Isa (Jesus) (son)
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. 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), who would be the "anointed one", the Promised Messiah. As such, orthodox Islamic belief has upheld the virgin birth of Jesus,[5] and although the classical Islamic thinkers never dwelt on the question of the perpetual virginity of Mary,[5] 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.[6]
Mary is believed to have been chosen by God, above all "the women of the worlds" in Islam.[5] She is referred to by various titles in the Quran, with the most prominent being al-Qānitah.
Family[edit]
The Quran calls Mary "the daughter of Imran".[7] It also mentions that people called her a "sister of Aaron (Harun)"[8] Her mother, mentioned in the Quran only as the wife of Imran, prayed for a child and eventually conceived.[9] According to al-Tabari, Mary's mother was named Hannah (Arabic: هنا), and Imran (Arabic: عمران), her husband, died before the child was born.[10] Expecting the child to be male, Hannah vowed to dedicate him to isolation and service in the Temple.[9] However, Hannah bore a daughter instead, and named her Maryam.[11][12][13]
Islamic tradition[edit]
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 Angelical salutation during the annunciation, "O Mary, indeed Allāh has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.".[45] A minority of Muslims also view her as a prophet.[46] Muslim women look upon her as an example. Muslim tradition, like Christian, honors her memory at Matariyyah near Cairo, and in Jerusalem. 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.[47] 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), 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 is not present in any Muslim records. Nevertheless, some contemporary Muslim scholars, an example being Martin Lings, accepted the assumption as being a historical event from Mary's life.[48] One of the lesser-known events which are recorded in Muslim literature is that of Mary visiting Rome with John and Thaddeus (Jude), the disciples (al-Hawāriyūn) of Jesus, during the reign of Nero.[49]
Qadi al-Nu'man, the twelfth century Ismaili Muslim 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).[44]
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).[51]