The Muslim story of Mary and Jesus

 by Hafsa Garcia

In response to Navi Kamalendrarajah’s fantastic article detailing the religious significance of Christmas, I wanted to share the Quranic story of Mary, may God send His peace and blessings upon her. 

In the Islamic tradition, Jesus, upon whom be peace, is referred to not as the son of God but rather, as the “son of Mary”. Mary is an extremely important figure in Islam and her name is mentioned many times in the Qur’an.

Having been unable to conceive a child for some time, Mary’s mum and dad (Hannah and Imran) were delighted to learn that they were expecting! Hannah promised to dedicate her unborn child to the service of God. At that time, it was only men who were allowed to worship in the temple, so when Mary was born her mother was surprised and says, apparently in an apologetic tone: 'My Lord! I have given birth to a female!’ (Qur’an, Chapter of Imran, verse 36). 

However, God interrupts her story to say that He knows better than her and He suggests that the daughter she has given birth to is better than the son she was expecting. Of course, we now know of the honoured role that God had planned for her - to be the mother and sole parent of one of the most important figures in the world, a role that could of course only be carried out by a woman.

As a child, Mary did serve in the temple in Jerusalem, just as her mother had wanted. She was watched over by a priest called Zachariah (who is also a respected prophet in Islam). The Qur’an talks of his amazement when he finds that she is miraculously supplied with provisions. He asks her, 

“Oh Mary, how did you get this?” and she tells him “it is from God, indeed, God gives provisions to whoever He wants” (Qur’an Chapter of Imran, verse 37).

The Qur’an has a chapter named after Mary, Surah Maryam. It is in this chapter that the miraculous story of Jesus’s birth is told, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his mother. The story has many similarities to the Bible story, but the Qur’an gives particular details about Mary’s experience giving birth.

I decided to memorise this story when I was pregnant myself - some of you might remember me being off for a year on maternity leave. I was not looking forward to the pain of childbirth, but I was inspired by Mary’s courage - after all, she was only a teenager when she had Jesus, and she gave birth in a time with no modern medicines or pain killers! 

The story starts with Mary leaving her family - she goes to “a place in the east” - some people suggest that this was an eastern chamber within the Temple - and hangs a curtain to screen herself from her people. In this private space, God sends his messenger to her - the angel Gabriel. He appears in front of her as “a perfect man”. 

Mary must have been alarmed as she exclaims, “I seek protection in the Lord of Mercy from you!”  (Qur’an, Chapter of Mary, verse 18). and says that, if he is a God-fearing person he will not come near her. Gabriel reassures her that he has been sent from her Lord. The reason? - to give her a pure, righteous son.

Mary must have been very confused at this, for she immediately asks him how on earth she can have a son when “no man has touched me” (i.e. she is not married), nor has she had any relations with men outside marriage - something which was considered completely unacceptable in her society. She must have been shocked at the suggestion!

In response, Gabriel explains that God can do whatever he wants - for Him, he can easily create a child with only a mother, just as he created the Prophet Adam, upon whom be peace, without a mother or a father. God says that He will make Mary’s son a “sign for mankind” - in other words, a miracle of God. Throughout the Qur’an, God often talks about His “signs” - not just referring to miracles like the virgin birth, but to the miraculous nature of the world around us, so that we might reflect on the existence of God and the purpose of our own existence. 

Once Mary conceives, she decides to leave the temple - perhaps because she is worried about what people might think - she goes “to a place far away” - most likely Bethlehem, which is about 4  miles away from Jerusalem, , where she can have some privacy. One can only imagine how terrifying it must have been for this young girl to find herself alone, in the pains of labour, worried about how on earth she would explain this to her people - what would they think of her? Would she be an outcast? What would she say to them?

Holding onto the trunk of a date palm tree, she cries out in distress, “I wish I had been dead and forgotten long before all this!” (Qur’an, Chapter of Mary, verse 23). But at this, but a reassuring voice calls to her from below, 

“Don’t worry, your Lord has provided a stream at your feet, 

and if you shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you, 

it will drop fresh ripe dates for you. 

So eat, and drink, and ease your heart 

- and if see anyone just say to them 

“I have made a vow of silence to my Lord so I will not speak to anyone today”

(Qur’an, Chapter of Mary, verses 24-26).

Muslim mothers today take inspiration from Mary and many eat dates during pregnancy and labour. Scientific research has shown that the nutrients in dates can help facilitate childbirth easier. Likewise, it is also a tradition of the Prophet Muhammed, upon whom be peace, to take a small piece of soft date and rub it on the newborn baby’s tongue. This may be because dates are a rich source of Vitamin K, which newborn babies are deficient in (most babies in the UK are now offered a Vitamin K injection as soon as they are born).

So Mary gathers her strength, and bravely goes back to her people carrying her newborn son in her arms. As expected, they do not react well to this; 

“Oh Mary, you’ve done something terrible!” they said, 

“Oh sister of Aaron  (because Mary was a descendent of the Prophet Aaron),

your father was not a bad man, and your mother wasn’t unchaste!”

(Qur’an, Chapter of Mary, verses 27-28).

Mary, keeping to her vow of silence, simply points at her baby, indicating that they should ask him to explain it. “How can we talk to a baby?!” they reply, probably wondering if Mary had gone mad.  Imagine their faces when baby Jesus (may God bless him) speaks up to defend his mother, saying:

 “I am a servant from God. 

He has given me the scripture and made me a prophet. 

He has made me blessed wherever I may be. 

He commanded me to pray and give charity as long as I live 

and to be kind to my mother. 

He has not made me arrogant or defiant. 

Peace was on me the day I was born, 

and will be on me the day I die 

and the day I am raised to life again.” 

(Qur’an, Chapter of Mary, verses 30-33).

God ends the story by reaffirming monotheism, because at the time the Qur’an was revealed, many people had come to believe that Jesus was himself divine, that he was God’s actual son (rather than just being His son in a figurative sense). Similarly, the Arabs of the time also used to say that God has daughters, and they used to pray to these daughters and worship them.

Muslims consider these beliefs to be a misunderstanding and believe that there is only one God alone - who is One in all respects - in being, in person and in essence. He has no mother nor father, nor any children - he is totally independent, self-sufficient and uncreated. He is unlike anything else that exists. In the Qur’an, God seeks to clear away any doubts, when He says, 

“Such was Jesus, son of Mary. 

This is a statement of Truth about which they are in doubt: 

it would not befit God to have a child. He is far above that: 

when He decrees something, He says only, ‘Be,’ and it is.

 (Qur’an, Chapter of Mary, verse 35).

Disclaimer - this article was written from my own limited knowledge as a Muslim rather than a scholar of Islam or theology; please forgive any errors or misrepresentations it may contain.