Mary, the Mother of Jesus: Part 1 - Who is Mary? by Dawah Monthly (Notes) on Saturday, June 29, 2013 at 11:01am It may surprise many people to learn that Mary is oneof the most esteemed and respected women in Islam and that the Quran gives her greatimportance. Maryam is the name of chapter 19 of the Quran, and Chapter 3 is AaliImran, named after her family. Islam holds the entire family of Imran invery high regard. The Quran tells us that: “God chose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham and the familyof Imran over all others of world’s of mankind and jinn.” (Quran 3:33) God choose Adam and Noah individually, but He chose the familyof Abraham and the family of Imran. “Offspring of one another.” (Quran 3:34) The family of Imran are from the descendents of Abraham,the family of Abraham are from the descendants of Noah and Noah is from thedescendents of Adam. The family of Imran also includes many people known andrespected in the Christian traditions – Prophets Zachary and John (known as theBaptist), Prophet and Messenger Jesus and his mother, Mary. God chose Mary above all the women of the world. Hesaid: “And when the angels said: ‘O Mary! Verily, God has chosenyou, purified you,and chosen you above the women of the worlds of mankind andjinn.’” (Quran 3:42) Ali ibn Abu Talib said: “I heard the Prophet of God saying Mary, the daughterof Imran was the best among women.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari) In Arabic the name Maryam means the maidservant ofGod, and as we shall see, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was dedicated to God evenbefore she was born. The Birth of Mary The Bible is unable to give us any details of Mary’sbirth; however, the Quran informs us that the wife of Imran dedicated herunborn child to the service of God. Mary’s mother, the wife of Imran, wasHannah. She was the sister of Prophet Zachary’s wife. Hannah and her husband Imran hadbelieved they would never have children, but one day Hannah made a sincere andheartfelt supplication to God begging for a child, and vowing that heroffspring would serve in God’s House in Jerusalem. God heard Hannah’s supplicationand she fell pregnant. When Hannah realised the glorious news she turned toGod and said: “O my Lord! I have vowed to You what is in my womb to bededicated for Your services, so accept this, from me. Verily, You are theAll-Hearer, the All-Knowing.” (Quran 3:35) There are lessons to be learned from Hannah’s vow toGod, one of which is caring for the religious education of our children. Hannah was not thinking in terms of this world at all, she was trying to ensurethat her child was close to God and in His service. These chosen friends ofGod, such as family of Imran, are the parents whom we should take as our rolemodels. God says many times in the Quran that He is the One who suppliesprovision for us, and He warns us to save ourselves and our families from thefires of Hell. In her supplication, Hannah asked that her child be freefrom all worldly work. By promising that her child would be the servant ofGod, Hannah was securing her child’s freedom. Freedom is a quality of lifethat every human being strives to attain, but Hannah understood that truefreedom comes from complete submission to God. This is what she aspired to forher yet unborn child. Hannah wanted her child to be a free person, a slave tono man and no desire, but a slave only to God. In due time, Hannah gave birthto a girl, again she turned to God in prayer and said: “‘O my Lord, I have delivered a female child,’ and the male isnot like the female, and I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge with You forher and her offspring from Satan, the outcast.” (Quran 3:36) Hannah named her child Mary. With reference to her vowto God, Hannah now found herself facing a dilemma. Serving in the House ofPrayer was not acceptable for women. Mary’s father, Imran had died before shewas born, so Hannah turned to her brother in law, Zachary. He comforted Hannahand helped her to understand that God knew that she had delivered a girl. Thisgirl child, Mary, was from the best of creation. Prophet Mohammad mentioned that whenever a child is born Satan pricks him or her and therefore the childcries loudly. This is a sign of the great enmity between mankind and Satan;however there were two exceptions to this rule. Satan pricked neither Mary norher son Jesus, due to the supplicationof Mary’s mother. When the time came for Mary to go into the House ofPrayer, everybody wanted to take care of this pious daughter of Imran. As wasthe custom of the time, the men drew lots for the privilege, and God ensuredthat her guardian was Prophet Zachary. “So her Lord accepted her with goodly acceptance, and made hergrow in a good manner, and put her under the care of Zachary.” (Quran 3:37) Prophet Zachary served in the House of God and was awise and knowledgeable man devoted to teaching. He had a private room builtfor Mary so that she was able to worship God and go about her daily duties inprivate. As her guardian, Prophet Zachary visited Mary daily, and one day hewas surprised to see fresh fruit in her room. It is said that in winter shewould have the fresh fruits of summer and in the summer she would have thefresh fruits of winter. Prophet Zachary inquiredabout how the fruit got there, to which Mary replied, it was indeed God Who providedher sustenance. She said: “It is from God. Verily, God provides sustenance to whom Hewills without limit.” (Quran 3:37) Mary’s devotion to God was at that time unparalleled,but her faith was about to be tested. - Aisha Stacey IslamReligion
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 03:51:51 +0000
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