When naming the
best woman who ever lived, Mohammed named Mary (Maryam in
Arabic), the mother of Jesus, as the best woman to ever live.
Her Birth.
"When the wife of Imran said:
'O
my Lord! I have vowed to You what is in my womb [my child] to be
dedicated to Your services, so accept this [my vow] from me.
Verily, All-Hearer, the All-Knowing.' Then we she delivered her
she said:
'O
my Lord! I have delivered a female child' - and Allah knew better
what she delivered - 'And the male is not like the female, and I
have named her Maryam and I seek refuge with You for her
and for her offspring from Satan, the outcast.' " (Quran 3:35-36)
The wife of Imran, and
mother of Mary, out of her devotion to God vowed to dedicate the
child in her womb to the sacred service of God and asked God to
accept her vow. Her hopes were in a male child who will be brought
up to service the places of worship and be dedicated to serve God.
Delivering a female child, she realized that things did not go
according to her plan, but decided to fulfill her vow, and
Maryam was the name of the child. And she made a prayer for
her newly born asking God to protect her and her offspring from
Satan. The verses following described the response of God to the
vow and to the prayer of the mother:
"So her Lord accepted her [Maryam] with good acceptance." (Quran
3:37).
Her Upbringing.
Quran
verses 3:37 continue ..
"So
her Lord accepted her with good acceptance. He made her grow in a
good manner and put her under the care of Zachariya. Every
time he entered Al-Mihrab (the praying place) to visit her,
he found her supplied with sustenance [food]. He said:
'O
Maryam! From where have you got this?' She said:
'This
is from Allah. Verily, Allah provides sustenance who He wills,
without limit.' "
So Mary was accepted by
God, and was brought up in a good manner after she was put under
the care of Zachary. Through her devotion and righteous upbringing
and the prayer from her mother, Mary became the best woman to ever
live as depicted in the Quran in the verses
3:42:
"And (remember) when the angels said: 'O Maryam (Mary)!
Verily, Allah (God) has chosen you, purified you (from polytheism
and disbelief), and chosen you above the women of the world (of
her lifetime).' "
Mary Receives a
Visit.
In the19th chapter of
the Quran (which is called Maryam) Mary receives a visitor
from God:
"And mention in the Book, Maryam [i.e. mention, O
Mohammed, in the Quran the story of Mary], when she withdrew
from her family to a place facing east. She placed a screen from
them; then We sent to her our angel (Jibrael, or Gabriel),
and he appeared before her in the form of a man in full human
form. She said:
'I
seek refuge with The Most Beneficent [God] from you, if you do
fear Him.' (The angel) said:
'I
am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift
of a righteous son.' She said:
'How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I
unchaste?' He (the angel) said:
'So (it will be), your Lord said: 'That is easy for Me: And to
appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (from God)',
and it is a matter (already) decreed (by God).' " (Quran 19:16-21)
In these verses, it is
described how the pious virgin Mary is visited by angel Gabriel,
who appears before her in a form of a man. Not knowing who he is,
she fears for herself, but he asserts to her that he is an angel,
a Messenger from her Lord, and announces to her news of her
miraculous conception of a son. In shock, she questions, affirming
her chastity. The angel answers that such a conception, though
miraculous, is easy for The Lord, all He needs to say is "Be." and
it is. And that these are matters decreed by Him, for greater
purposes and to the benefit of mankind.
The Miracle.
And then,
miraculously, Mary becomes pregnant. The emotional story of her
pregnancy follows:
"So she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place .
And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date-palm.
She said:
'Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out
of sight!' Then a call unto her from bellow, said:
'Grieve not! Your Lord has provided a water stream under you; And
shake the trunk of the date-palm towards you, it will let fall
fresh ripe dates upon you. So eat and drink and be glad, and if
you see any human being, say:
'Verily! I have vowed a fast unto the Most Beneficent so I shall
not speak to any human being this day.' " (Quran 19:22-26)
From these versus one
mentally pictures Mary, driven out of town, out of sight to
Bethlehem valley 4-6 miles from Jerusalem, in the pain of labor,
and in fear of what is going to happen to her. It is her first
child, she has no husband. What will her people, the Jews, say?
What will they do? How will she react? With all that, she wishes
that she was dead, but the God who gave her the miracle, the God
to Whom she worshipped, to Whom she devoted her life, did not
forsake her. A voice came from beneath her, soothing and
comforting her, and guiding her. And when she gave birth, the
voice instructed her not to speak or explain, but make a vow of
silence and everything will workout.
"Then she brought him (the baby) to her people, carrying him. They
said:
'O
Maryam! Indeed you have brought a thing which is greatly
evil! O sister of Haron (i.e. O you who we consider the
like of Haron, who was a pious man at the time of Mary)!
Your father was not a bad man (adulterous), nor was your mother an
unchaste woman.' Then she pointed to him (to the baby). They said:
'How can we talk to one who is a child, in the cradle?' " (Quran
19:27-29)
Mary gives birth to the
child, and takes him back to her village. And there Mary meets the
Jews. Upon seeing her with her baby, they are struck. In their
eyes, she has done a heinous crime. Their argument was: 'How could
you do something so evil! We always considered you a model person
of piety, and you come from a pious family -- known and
respected!'. But Mary obeys the commands of her Lord. She is quiet
and points to the baby.
