The Name Mary And How It Is

The Name Mary, And How It Is U Essay, Research Paper

The name Mary, and how it is used in the Koran

Islam

April 9, 1999

The role that Mary has played in the history of religion is a topic that can be debated. According to the Koran, the only importance of Mary, is that she is undisputedly the mother of Jesus. Also, the only proper name of a woman to be used in the Koran, is the name, Mary (Maryam). However, she has never been referred to as the Virgin Mary in either the Bible or the Koran.1 This is significant in comparing and contrasting some of the importance of this woman and her son to Christianity and Islam religions.

The woman known as Mary, is a name that many religions of the world honor. She was born to Anna, the wife of Imran and when she was born her mother Anna prayed to God:2

O my Lord, I vow to thee what is in my belly

dedicated (to thy service); accept (it) from me

verily thou art one who hears and knows. 3

After she had made this vow to God, she was then confused when He gave a female child. She did not understand how greatness was to come from a female child.

As written in the third sura of the Koran, Mary was raised in a way which was devoted to serving God. She worshiped in the temple, just as her mother promised she would if God would allow her to have this special child. It is said that Mary was assisted by angels throughout her childhood, and the Islamic religion regarded her as sinless.4 The Koran implies this pure, sinless and Godly inspired view of Mary by stating in sura three verses 30-35:

And I have named her Mary,

and commend her to Thee

with her seed, to protect them

from the accursed Satan5

Although it was not obvious at first, Mary would eventually play a large role in Christianity and other religions, due to the fact that she would be the mother of Jesus.

Muslims and Jews also recognize the importance of Mary to their religions. They agree that she is the true mother of the prophet Jesus. Muhammad, when clearing and cleansing the Ka ba of idols, is said to have spared the removal of a picture of Mary and Jesus.6 The phrase, Son of Mary is also written more times in the Koran than it is in the Bible. She is also highly respected in Judaism, and it is considered a mighty slander for a Jewish person to speak against her. Although these and other stories may not be true, it shows that Muhammad and Muslims hold a great deal of respect for Mary and her son Jesus.7

The phrase, Son of Mary, is one that refers to Jesus, and occurs much more frequently in the Koran than in the Bible. In fact, it is only used one time in the Bible compared to twenty-three times in the Koran.8 This shows that the Muslims acknowledge Jesus, and the impact he had on that time period.

Some feel that the primary message that is delivered by the Koran to Muslims is that the term Son of Mary is used in a negative way. Parrinder however disagrees with this view. He feels that when the Koran uses the term Son of Mary, it is in a more positive and honorable way. The Muslims, unlike the Jews, do not have such harsh and negative views towards Jesus, and this is one of the main reasons why Parrinder feels that the term is used in a honorable way.9 The Muslims believe that Jesus was not divine, but they do feel he was a prophet worthy of their respect and worship. Muslims feel that he was no more important than any of the other prophets, which were all worthy of their worship. The Jews on the other hand, do not acknowledge him as a prophet or being divine. They do not recognize him as a chosen person of God.10

Muslims see Jesus as a man. He, along with his mother Mary, were not considered divine or Godly by the Muslims. This is one reason for the use of the phrase, Jesus, Son of Mary, in the scriptures of these religions. It implies that he was no more than a human being. He had a mother, he was the Son of Mary, which implies that he was a human just like everyone else.11

The virgin birth is also agreed upon by Muslims, and is discussed in the Koran. It does not reject these views about a virgin birth, unlike the Jews who do. In sura 3, 37/42, it states that:

Mary, God gives thee good

tidings of a Word from Him

whose name is Messiah,

Jesus, son of Mary;

high honoured shall he be

in this world and the next,

near stationed to God.12

This passage implies that the Muslims believed that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. However, they do not agree completely with the views that are portrayed in Luke, chapters one and two, of the New Testament of the Bible.13 Christians portray Jesus one of the most important figures in their religion. This allows us to better understand Islam, because the fact that Muslims believed in the Virgin Mary helps to prove that Christians and Muslims came into contact with each other in Syria and other parts of the west.14

Some have argued, including R. H. Lightfoot, that it was an insult to have Jesus take on his mothers name rather than his fathers. It is believed by many that in the seventh century, most males took on the name of their father, and the only reason for having a mother s name was for negative reasons. Parrinder contradicts this by giving examples of some of the poets o

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