Mary in Islam

This article is about Mary in Islam. For other uses, see Saint Mary (disambiguation) and Virgin Mary (disambiguation).
For other persons named Maryam, see Maryam (name).
Maryam
مَرْيَم
Mary
Titleal-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)
Personal
Bornc. 20 BCE
Nazareth
Diedc. 100–120 CE
Jerusalem
Resting placeMary's Tomb, Kidron Valley (possibly)
ReligionIslam
ChildrenIsa (Jesus) (son)
Parents
Muslim leader
PredecessorYahya
SuccessorIsa

Maryam bint Imran (Arabic: مَرْيَم بِنْت عِمْرَان, romanized: Maryam bint ʿImrān, lit. 'Mary, daughter of Imran') holds a singularly exalted place in Islam.[1] The Qur'an refers to her seventy times and explicitly identifies her as the greatest woman to have ever lived. Moreover, she is the only woman named in the Quran.[2][3][1][4] 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.

Mary's relation to John and Zechariah

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.

  1. ^ a b J.D. McAuliffe, Chosen of all women
  2. ^ Ibrahim, Ayman S. (3 November 2020). A Concise Guide to the Quran: Answering Thirty Critical Questions. Baker Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1493429288.
  3. ^ Qur'an 3:42; cited in Stowasser, Barbara Freyer, “Mary”, in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC.
  4. ^ J.-M. Abd-el-Jalil, Marie et l'Islam, Paris 1950
  5. ^ a b c Stowasser, Barbara Freyer, “Mary”, in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC.
  6. ^ e.g. Rāzī, Tafsīr, viii, 46