Mary: Islam’s Blessed Virgin.

By: Farzana  Hassan  Shahid

 

A little over two thousand years ago, a woman named Hanna  from the Davidic branch of the ancient Israelites,  made an earnest  supplication to God to bless her with a male child whom she would dedicate in His service as a thanksgiving. God partially granted her request, for though, as a barren  woman she conceived, she delivered a female child instead of the son she had prayed for.  Hanna was now worried that she would not be able to fulfill her vow to consecrate the child and  naturally expressed dismay at the birth of her daughter, Miriam.  God however, reassured her and accepted her offering. This is described  in the Qur’an as follows:

 

“And her Lord accepted her (Maryam) with full acceptance and vouchsafed to  her a goodly  growth. and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went out to the sanctuary where she was, he found her supplied with sustenance. He said “Mary: whence comes this to you? She said: It is from God. God provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure.” (Quran 3:37)

 

This blessed child, Maryam (One who worships) as she is referred to in the Qur’an, grew up in God’s service, in a sanctuary built in the temple by her guardian, the prophet Zacharia. Thus she would remain in the sanctuary, dedicating  all her time and energy in the remembrance of God till no one else in the community could compare with her in piety.  No visitors would be allowed in this sanctuary  guarded by seven doors, except for Zachriah.  Here she would remain till attaining puberty between the age of ten or fifteen years, and her special mission as God’s chosen servant  would begin shortly after.

 

According to early Islamic sources, Maryam, left the sanctuary  during her monthly courses, to reside at her cousin Elizabeth’s house, who was also  Zachariah’s wife and John the Baptist’s mother. After the ritual purification, Maryam promptly returned to the sanctuary to resume her service. It is here that  the Angel Gabriel, would appear to her in the form of a man on one occasion, announcing to her the birth of a holy son.  Mary, being a pious and chaste woman, shuddered at the sight of a strange man in her sanctuary:  Her horror at seeing him,  along with the Annunciation  are described in the Qur’an as follows:

 

‘Lo, I seek refuge from the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art God-fearing

He said, I am only a messenger of Thy Lord to bestow upon thee the Gift of a Holy son.”

She said : how can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste”

He said: so it shall be The Lord said It is easy for me And we shall make him a Sign for mankind and a Mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained”

So she conceived him and she withdrew with him to a far place (Qur’an 19 19--23)

And she who was chaste,  We breathed into her(something of Our spirit) and made her and her son a token for all peoples”(Qur’an 21:91)

 

The Qur’an while describing the incident, clealy acknowledged and affirmed the chastity and piety of  this  woman whom it would honor in the following words:

“O Mary, Behold! God has elected thee and made thee pure, and raised thee above all the women of the world” (Qur’an 3: 42)

 

  She would later also come to serve as a unifying symbol between the Abrahamic  faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

 

According to Al-Najjar and Muqatil, two second century commentators of the Qur’an,  the entire event surrounding the conception and birth of  Jesus Christ was a miracle, not only because of its immaculacy, but also because of the duration of the pregnancy which amazingly lasted only a few hours. When the ancient Israelites confronted Mary with this “Astonishing thing”, she merely pointed to the Baby Jesus,  who testified about the chastity  and veracity of his mother by speaking miraculously in his cradle when he was only three days old. .

 

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Thus Maryam,  Islam’s blessed virgin, by the Power and Will of God, became the mother of Jesus Christ,  one of five most reverred prophets of Islam.  Her total submission  to the Will of God  was exemplary, as the mission she had been entrusted  with had posed many challenges for her. Yet her role in Islam is far greater than that of  just being the blessed, chaste and saintly mother of Jesus. She also stands out as a symbol of female equality in God’s sight, due to the  fact that she received revelation from God and was accepted in His service when it was customary only to consecrate male children.  Therefore, in  God’s sight, she was second to no man, being truly privileged spiritually  in every sense of the word  because of her piety and service to Him.

 

Farzana Hassan-Shahid 

 

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