Qur’an Cover-to-Cover: Day 11 (“Mary”)

Today is a particularly special chapter of the Qur’an, the one dedicated to Mary (“Miriam”), the Mother of Jesus (“Isa”):

Surah 19 – “Mary” (Maryam)
We begin this chapter with the story of Zechariah. As in the Bible, we are told that he and his wife had failed to have children. He is told through an angel that he will have a son named John. However, we soon start seeing a departure from the Biblical narrative…. Zechariah asks Allah to “make for me a sign”. He is then told that the sign will be that he will not be able to speak for “three nights”. However, in the Bible Zechariah cannotspeak until John’s circumcision. An interesting side note is that Allah tells John to “take the Scripture [i.e. adhere to it] with determination”, which shows that, at least in this chapter, the Old Testament is assumed to be preserved without corruption (contrary to the claim of most Muslims with whom I’ve spoken).

We now come to the story of Mary. We’re told that she withdraws from her family, heads eastwards and takes seclusion behind a screen – it’s not clear to me why. At this point, Gabriel visits her to give her “[news of] a pure boy [i.e. son]”. As in Luke’s Gospel, she does not understand how this will happen. There is a conspicuous absence of St. Joseph in this story – he is not mentioned once.

We are then told that Mary withdrew to a remote place. She experiences the pains of childbirth (contrary to Catholic teaching) and then gives birth, not in a cave or stable, but under a palm tree. Mary then experiences serious anguish, wishing she were dead, but Jesus speaks to her from the womb (although some interpreters say the “he” in the text is actually an angel). He tells her that a stream has sprung beneath her and if she shakes the palm tree, fresh dates will fall. I’m assuming that this is meant to be a sign of Allah’s continued care for her. Mary then brings Jesus to “her people” and they effectively accuse her of unchastity. In response, she simply points to Jesus. The infant child once again speaks, saying that he is “the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet”.

Immediately after telling the story of Jesus’ birth, we are told that “It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a son” and we are told that “the factions differed [concerning Jesus]…woe to those who disbelieved”. Muhammad is told to warn them “of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded”.

We now move to the story of Abraham. We are told that he had a Pagan father and that Abraham tries warn him that he will end up in Hell. This is anachronistic, since at this point in the Old Testament next to nothing had been revealed concerning the afterlife, which is why the Saduccees denied the Resurrection itself! Anyway, Abraham’s father threatens to stone him and Abraham responds by saying that he will ask forgiveness for him from God. This is an odd thing for him to say given Surah 35’s assertion that one cannot carry another’s “burden”. Abraham then says that he’s going to leave home.

(The Qur’an might suggest that Isaac and Jacob were brothers when it says that God “gave [Abraham] Isaac and Jacob”, but I don’t think the text necessarily has to be interpreted in that manner)

Now we turn to Moses, who is described as “a messenger and a prophet”, which are two different roles in Islam. We are told that his brother Aaron was a prophet.

Next, we are told that Ishmael was a messenger and prophet, who encouraged his people to prayer and almsgiving.

The prophet Indrees who Allah “raised..to a high station” is mentioned next. No further details are given but I found out that Islam associates this figure with Enoch, whom it regards as the second prophet after Adam.

Then follows a protracted section talking about Judgement and Hell, followed by repeated rejections of Christianity: “they attribute to the Most Merciful a son. And thit is not appropriate… There is no wone in the heavens and earth but that comes to the Most Merciful as a servant”.

Q1. After Zechariah is told that his son will be called “John”, ayah 7 says that “We have not assigned to any before [this] name”. Is this really saying that nobody in the world was ever called John prior to this?

Or is the text saying that this is the first time that Allah has commanded someone to be called John? If so, what’s the signficance of that?

Q2. Doesn’t ayah 12 affirm the preservation of the Old Testament? After all, how could John the Baptist “take the Scripture [i.e. adhere to it] with determination” if it were already corrupt?

Q3. Why does Mary initially withdraw from her family, go eastwards and take seclusion behind a screen? All this is prior to the Annunciation.

Q4. Does Isalm deny that Mary was betrothed? St. Joseph isn’t mentioned at all in her story.

Q5. To where does Mary remove herself once she has conceived?

Q6. Is it Jesus or an Angel who speaks to Mary when she is grieving under the palm tree?

Q7. Does ayah 26 indicate consecrated virginity when Mary is told to say “Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man”? What rationale is given for this abstention?

Q8. My Qur’an interprets “sister of Aaron” as “descendant of Aaron”. This seems a very odd way of describing a descendant – I would expect “daughter of Aaron”, at the least. Is this a common convension in Arabic countries?

Q9. Jesus refers to his death and resurrection in ayah 33. When did/will this happen?

Q10. In ayah 34 it says “That is Jesus, the son of Mary – the word of truth about which they are in dispute”. Is the “word of truth” here Jesus Himself? Are those “in dispute” Christians? How are they in dispute?

Q11. Are the “wrongdoers” of ayah 38 Christians?

Q12. Abraham affirms final judgement in ayah 45, yes?

Q13. Does verse 47 mean that one person can pray for another to have his sins forgiven? Doesn’t 35:18 teach this can’t be done?

Q14. Does ayah 69 indicate that there are different levels of Hell?

Q15. Ayah 72 seems to suggest that initially everyone starts in Hell, but then that those who do good are extracted. Is that correct?

Q16. Ayah 87 indicates that thoese who have entered into covenant with Allah will have the power of intercession. How does that work?

This was a particularly interesting chapter to read as it contains notable similarities and differences to the Biblical accounts. One thing that is very clear by this point, though, is that the author of the Qur’an rejects the claims of Christianity.

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