Mary Mother of Jesus: One of the greatest Women that ever existed
By Hanif Mohammed
The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, is primarily discussed in relation to the miraculous birth of Jesus. It goes without saying that this miracle by itself is enough to confer greatness on her. However it does not fully explain why Mary is one of the greatest women that ever existed. The aim of this article is to examine the miraculous birth of Jesus along with other aspects of Mary’s life to gain an understanding of her lofty position in Islam. We will first discuss her noble family lineage, and then her birth and the circumstances surrounding it. We will also discuss the divine decision to choose Mary above all women for the honor of having a son without male intervention. The above examination will provide an Islamic view of Mary the mother of Jesus, and we will conclude with a brief look at the differences between this view and the Christian view of Mary.
The first step when discussing great religious personalities and those whom God has chosen for special tasks, is to examine their lineage. Followers of the Household of the Prophet Mohammad maintain the belief that God does not allow the parents of His prophets to be idolaters, polytheist, or evil-doers, but rather that all of them were born of parents who had a firm belief in tawhid (Divine unity).1 Mary was no exception to this, and her parentage was also noble and her parents were believers in the One true God. The Qur’an narrates this in the following verse, “O sister of Harun!2 Your father was not a bad man, nor, was your mother an unchaste woman.”3 The apparent meaning of this verse is that Mary’s parents were good people, but to truly understand the verse we need to refer to its commentary.
Ayatullah Agha Pooya Yazdi in his commentary on this verse states, “The Qur’an and the Bible assert that Mary the Mother of Jesus and Zakariyya's wife were the descendants of Harun, the brother of Musa, a prophet of God, and through him belonged to the tribe of Levi, noted for virtue and piety.”4
From the above commentary we learn that Mary was a descendant of Prophet Ibrahim through Prophet Harun. Both prophets were charged with the responsibility of teaching and establishing Tawhid. However her noble lineage, by itself, is not sufficient to explain her merit, for many who share the same lineage have gone astray. It is Mary’s piety and obedience to God, along with her lineage and the task that she was chosen for that qualify her as one of the greatest women that ever existed.
Before Mary’s birth, her mother Anna (Hannah in Hebrew) vowed that she would give her child to the service of the Temple. The Qur’an describes this in the following way:
“(Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!” When she was delivered, she said: "O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!"- And God knew best what she brought forth-
“And no wise is the male like the female. I have named her Mary the Mother of Jesus, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected. So her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance and made her grow up a good growing, and gave her into the charge of Zakariyya;" 5
Ayatullah Nasir Makarem Shirazi in his commentary on these verses says, “When she (Anna) gave birth to the child she was sorry because according to Mosaic Law a female child could not be devoted to Temple Services. Besides that; a Lady cannot keep herself clean to be in the service of the Temple, always, because of her menstruation.” He also comments, “Anna named her child Mary, which means a worshipper woman or a Temple’s maid servant; such a naming proves how eager Anna was to dedicate her child in the service of God and His sacred Temple.”6
God accepted Anna’s plea, making an exception for this exceptional saint by allowing a female to enter into the Temple Service that previously permitted only male children. His acceptance of Mary as a servant of the Temple, is proof of her greatness and the position of her mother.
God says in the Qur’an,
“Behold! The angels said: "O Mary! God hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations.” 7
This verse reveals another reason why Mary is one of the greatest beings to grace this planet, for God only chooses and purifies His true servants. The Qur’an explains that God chose Mary as a result of a special virtue she had; her chastity before and after the birth of Jesus, which is discussed in greater detail in the commentary of verse 91 of Chapter 21. God favored Mary even further by gifting her with the miracle of receiving heavenly food before the birth of Jesus. Zakariyya is made to bear witness to this in the Qur’an:
“...whenever Zakariyya entered the sanctuary to (see) her, he found with her food. He said: O Marium! Whence comes this to you? She said: It is from God. Surely God gives to whom He pleases without measure. There did Zakariyya pray to his Lord; he said: My Lord! grant me from Thee good offspring; surely Thou art the Hearer of prayer.” 8
Ayatullah Agha Pooya Yazdi says of these verses, “Prophet Zakariyya's prayer makes it clear that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, received her sustenance directly from God, the miraculous nature of which made Zakariyya turn to God (in that place) to beseech Him for a son he could not have since his wife was barren; and as a prophet he knew that only a miracle willed by God could give him a son.”
Mary’s piety, chastity, and communication with God’s angels, all contribute to her greatness, and show why she was chosen by God to conceive Jesus without a father. Prophet Mohammad also declared her greatness among women in the following tradition: “The best women of the world are four: Mary the Mother of Jesus, the daughter of Heli (Imran), Aasiyah the wife of Pharaoh, Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid (The wife of the Prophet Mohammad), and Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammad.” (Al-Tirmidhi).9 This summarizes the view of Mary in Islam, but in order to better understand her personality let us examine her from the perspective of our Christian brothers and sisters.
Christian scholars differ in their views of Mary and the role she played. Catholics view of Mary has been defined by the Council of Ephesus as, “Therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of the unconfused union, we confess the holy virgin to be the mother of God because God the Word took flesh and became man and from his very conception united to himself the temple he took from her.”10 This ideology directly conflicts with the Islamic view of Mary. Pope John Paul VI, in an article that appeared in L'Osservatore Romano, proclaimed Mary to be the Mother of the Church.11 There have been many shrines erected in her honor for Catholic followers. The Protestants however differ in their view of Mary; they respect her but she is not venerated as anything other than a blessed and pious woman of God.
Those who wish to pursue this subject may find it useful to refer to Biblical scriptures regarding Mary, to see the contrast between the Bible and the Qur’an. For the most part, the scriptures present a unified description of her. However Protestant Bibles that don’t include apocryphal texts, do not contain the early history of Mary that is narrated in the Qur’an. A quick search for the Gospel of James and Apocrypha on the internet shows the surprising similarity between the descriptions of Mary in the Bible and in the Qur’an.12 For example, the Bible states:
“And Anna said: As the Lord my God liveth, if I bring forth either male or female, I will bring it for a gift unto the Lord my God, and it shall be ministering unto him all the days of its life.”13
Similarly, the Qur’an states:
“(Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!”14
Further similarities include the following:
“And Mary was in the temple of the Lord as a dove that is nurtured: and she received food from the hand of an angel.”15
“whenever Zakariyya entered the sanctuary to (see) her, he found with her food. He said: O Marium! Whence comes this to you? She said: It is from God.”16
There are many other verses that carry the same message; they only reaffirm why Mary, mother of Jesus, is one of the greatest women that ever lived from the perspectives of Christianity and Islam. May God accept this humble endeavor to elucidate one of his chosen servants.
Endnotes
1. Tawheed is the belief that God is one, and that He has no partners, associates, ascendants nor descendants.
2. Harun, Arabic name for Prophet Aaron the brother of Prophet Musa.
3. Qur’an 19:28.
4. Ayatullah Agha H. M. M. Pooya Yazdi and S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali, The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary on Mary the Mother of Jesus the Mother of Jesus the Mother of Jesus the Mother of Jesusam 28.
5. Qur’an 3:35-37.
6. Ayatullah –al- Ozma N. Makarem Shirazi., The Holy Quran Text, Translation and Commentary ,Volume 1, Page 345.
7. Qur’an 3:42.
8. Qur’an 3:37-8.
9. Book of Traditions of the Holy Prophet considered one of six reliable books of traditions by the Sunnis.
10. This dogma was declared by the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431.
11. L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in Englis,h, September 24, 1997, page 11.
12. http://www.global.org/Pub/NH_Gospel_of_James.asp.
13. Gospel of James IV:1.
14. Qur’an 3:35.
15. Gospel of James VIII:1.
16. Qur’an 3:37.