Mary in Islam

God informed Mary that she had miraculously conceived a child through the intervention of the divine spirit, though she was still a virgin.

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.

E.H. Palmer, in his late 19th century translation of Quran, included in the Sacred Books of the East series, noted that: Amram; who, according to the Mohammedans, was the father of the Virgin Mary, (Miriam.)

According to Iraqi Jewish scholar and translator, N.J. Dawood, the Quran confuses Mary mother of Jesus with Miriam 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 6:20.

"[19] Although Islamic studies 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, Nicolai Sinai & Michael Marx, that the Quran does not make a genealogical error but instead makes use of typology.

The words "sister" and "daughter", like their male counterparts, in Arabic usage can indicate extended kinship, descendance or spiritual affinity.

[31] 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.

The first explicit mention of an annunciation foreshadowing the birth of Jesus is in Quran 19:20 where Mary asks Gabriel (Jibril) 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.

[35] 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.

[36] Although Islam honors numerous women, including Hawwa, Hagar, Sarah, Asiya, Khadijah, Fatimah, Aisha, Hafsa many commentators[37] followed this verse in the absolute sense, and agreed that Mary was the greatest woman of all time.

[36][38] According to exegesis 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.

˹So leave me alone˺ if you are God-fearing.” 19:19 He responded, “I am only a messenger from your Lord, ˹sent˺ to bless you with a pure son.” 19:20 She wondered, “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me, nor am I unchaste?” 19:21 He replied, “So will it be!

And so will We make him a sign for humanity and a mercy from Us.’ It is a matter ˹already˺ decreed.” The Quran's narrative of the virgin birth is somewhat different from that in the New Testament.

[46] The Quran goes on to narrate that Mary then brought Jesus to her people, they were in shock, as they knew her to be from a righteous family.

"[32]: 23 The Fatimid Ismaili jurist Al-Qadi al-Nu'man holds that the virgin birth of Jesus is meant to be interpreted symbolically.

[48] 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.".

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.

[56] 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.

[57] 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).

In Hadith, she has been referred to by names such as Batul, Adhraa' (Ascetic Virgin), and Marhumah (Enveloped in God's Mercy).