MARY IN THE QUR’AN
MARY IN THE QUR’AN
Mary and Prophet Jesus are the very first personalities about whom people stir controversy and argue most. As in the period during which the Qur’an was revealed, the situation was the same, Our Supreme explained the actual fundamental information regarding these two persons and sealed the issue in the Surah Maryam by saying, “He is Jesus [Isa], son of Mary, about whom they have been disputing according to the Truth”.[1]
This means that the only sturdy information in this topic is available in the Qur’an and it must be deemed that the information given in the Qur’an is satisfactory. Rest must be left to the archaeological developments.
In fact, the age in which Mary and prophets Jesus and Zachariah lived are not known accurately. When the relation of Mary and Prophet Jesus with the Essenes in Qumran is taken into account, and since the information belonging to the years of 500 BC has been neglected, Mary and Prophet Jesus should have lived between the years of BC. 400-200. We provided this topic in our article entitled Prophet Jesus in more details.
We present the issue in the light of the verses in different parts of the Qur’an regarding Mary and Jesus.
As we learn from the Qur’an, Mary and her son Jesus are an Ayat, a sign for humans.
Surah Al-Anbiya 91:
91And that woman who meticulously guarded her chastity; We informed her with our reliable knowledge. We made her and her son an evidence/a sign for the mankind.
Surah Al-Mu’minun 50:
50And We made son of Mary and mother of Jesus an evidence/a sign and settled them both on a hill that had water and was suitable for living.
Mary is a personality who sets an example to humanity:
Surah At-Tahrim 12:
12And Allah has presented the example of Mary, daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity like a fortress. We informed her but a little with Our Wahy [Revelation].399 And she confirmed and implemented the words and books of her Rabb[2] and she was of those who show respect constantly.
Meaning of the word MARY
The word “مريم Maryam ( Mary )” is a word that is in the form of “مفعل mef’al”. It is possible that the word was derived from the verb of “رام rame” which means “departing from a place”.[3] However, as this noun is mentioned in two places in the Holy Scriptures as the name of the sister of Prophet Moses, that shows that the word has a Hebrew root as well.[4]
In the New Testament [Bible], this word takes place 53 times as Marim, Maria and Mariamme. Exact meanings of these words are not known clearly. By commentators, regarding the word “Maryam (Mary)” some meanings like “sea drop”, “sea star”, “bound with God”, “person who loves God”, “lady”, “illuminating”, “chubby”, “princes”, “proud”, “beautiful person”, “perfect person” have been suggested.
The word “Maryam (Mary)” is mentioned in the Qur’an for 34 times in the form of a noun and 1 time as pronoun “She”, 35 times in total.
Many of what has been written regarding Mary’s identity and family, and the age she lived in are imaginative and there is no sufficient information and document in the Christian sources either in this regard.
Her family:
While there is no comprehensive information given in the Qur’an about her parents, as understood from the Ayah 35 of the Surah Ali Imran, the name of her father is Imran. No information regarding whether Imran was dead or alive before Mary was born or about Imran’s occupation was given in the Qur’an and there is no information in the Christian sources either.
The remarks that the name of Mary’s mother was “Hanna,” that she was the sister-in-law of Prophet Zachariah, the name of Prophet Zachariah’s wife [Mary’s aunt] was “Elizabeth” are not conclusive because as in the Tabari History, such remarks are based on the unproven Christian sources.
Let us follow Mary from the Qur’an.
Surah Ali Imran 33-37:
33,34Indeed, Allah favored Adam, Noah, family of Abraham and family of Imran –being from each other’s lineage– over the people of the time. And Allah is the One Who hears best, knows best.
35When the wife of Imran said: “My Rabb! I surely have devoted what is in my womb for you. Accept it from me, You surely are the One Who hears best, knows best”.
36And when she delivered her, she said: “My Rabb! I have definitely delivered a female; -yet Allah knows better what she has delivered- male is not like female. And surely, I have named her Mary. And indeed, I make her and her descendants seek refuge in You from Iblis”.
37So her Rabb accepted Mary with a beautiful acceptance. And He made her grow as a beautiful plant and made Zachariah a guarantor to Mary that she did not deliver Jesus unlawfully but without a father by the will of Allah. And whenever Zachariah entered upon her/in the private room, he would find a provision with her. Zachariah said: “O Mary! Where is this from?”. Mary said: “From Allah”. Surely, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.
Surah Ali Imran 42-51:
42,43And when the harbinger Ayat said: “O Mary! Surely, Allah has chosen you, made you pure and chosen you above the women of the time. O Mary! Show respect to your Rabb, submit to Him and declare the oneness of Allah with the men who declare the oneness of Allah!”.
44This is what We have revealed to you from the important news of the past which you did not have possibility to perceive. And you were not with them while they were casting their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. And you were not with them when they were disputing.
45,46And when the harbinger Ayat once said: “O Mary! Allah gives you the good tidings of a word from Him. His name will be Jesus the Messiah, son of Mary. He will be honorable in the world and in Akhirat [Afterlife]. And he will be among those who have been brought close and the righteous. He will speak with the people as an adult and in a higher position. 48And Allah will teach him the book, the laws, rules and principles that are set forth to prevent injustice, corruption and chaos and the Bible and the Torah.
49-51And He will make him a messenger to Israelites to say, ‘The truth is that I have brought/come to you with an evidence/a sign from your Rabb; surely, I design for you a clay; mud; ceramic object; thurible (censer) that resembles a bird. Then I blow into it; form an aerosol so, by permission of Allah, all that which causes illness will become a bird/fly away. I remove the blindness which is not from birth, poisoning of snake, scorpion and lizard/harmful plants in the vineyards, gardens and farms by permission/knowledge of Allah and I revive the social dead by permission of Allah. I inform you about your food that you will eat and store in your houses; save to eat later. –If you are the ones who believe, there is definitely an evidence/a sign in this for you.- I confirm the contents of Torah only which is contained in the Bible as well. I will make lawful a part of that which has been forbidden to you. I have brought to you an evidence/a sign from your Rabb. Now enter under the guardianship of Allah and follow me. Surely, Allah is my Rabb and your Rabb. Therefore, worship Him! This is the righteous path’”.
47Mary said: “My Rabb! How will I have a child when no human has ever touched me? Allah said: “Thus it is! Allah forms what He wills; when He decrees about a matter, He only says to it “Be!” and it immediately is”.
As understood from the expression of Imran’s wife in Qur’an’s this passage, “My Rabb! I have definitely delivered a female; -yet Allah knows better what she has delivered- male is not like female.” that Mary was born as the child of a devout family who expected a son, who preferred a son to a girl, and who discriminated male and female children. If we take the devoutness of the family and their devotion of their child to be born to serve to God and the place of woman in today’s Jews based on Holy Scriptures, into account, we may think that the reason for preferring a son to a daughter is that the girls were not provided with the opportunity to serve to the religion in the period of those days.
Mary’s gender
As we will provide in details below, we think that Mary was created in hermaphroditic [5] nature as follows:
In this passage in the Surah Ali Imran, wording of Our Rabb, “-yet Allah knows better what she has delivered-” is the notification that Mary is in fact not a girl.
Also in this passage, when Our Rabb said, “So her Rabb accepted Mary with a beautiful acceptance. And He made her grow as a beautiful plant”. He qualified Mary as a plant (She was not likened to a plant). It makes one think that Mary bears the features of a plant rather than a normal person. Having a plant feature for a person is not contrary to the rules of creation of Our Rabb because one of the stages of the creation is the stage of being a plant:
Surah Nuh (Noah): 17
17And Allah made you grow from the earth as a plant.
When the fact that Mary became pregnant subsequently without a male is taken into account, in the qualification of a plant, the probability is exhibited that she was in a “hermaphroditic” nature as shown in many of the plants with flowers; that is to say, she had both female and male reproductive organs.
Also in the verse, from the expressions, “And you were not with them while they were casting their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. And you were not with them when they were disputing” and “He made Zachariah a guarantor to Mary” it is understood that there became problems in the delivery of Mary to the chapel, that they dealt with the situation by drawing lot, and that, finally, Zachariah became guarantor of Mary in the chapel.
Also in this passage, the exclusiveness specified in the expression, “He has chosen you above the women of the time” states not Mary’s superiority to other women because of her skills but her biological difference and excess, and the fact that she was not in the same build as the other women.
Also in this passage, from the expression, “And when the harbinger Ayat said: “O Mary! Surely, Allah has chosen you, made you pure and chosen you above the women of the time. O Mary! Show respect to your Rabb, submit to Him and declare the oneness of Allah with the men who declare the oneness of Allah!”. It is understood that Mary took the task of the males among men and that she carried it out. Use of er-Rakiîn in the verse as masculine, is not probably for the mere sake of rhyme.
In the Ayah 91 of the Surah Al-Anbiya, the pronouns pointing out Mary are “ehsanet, ferceha, fiyha, cealnaha, ibneha” taking place as muennas [feminine] and one of the pronouns and an adverb in the Ayah 12 of the Surah At-Tahrim of “fiyhi, kanitiyn” muzekkar [masculine], other is “elleti, ehsanat, ferceha, saddegat, rabbiha, kanet” being muennas [feminine].
As it will be seen below, in the Surah Maryam, it was stated while starting the Mary passage on the Ayah 16 that, “When she left her family/relatives and fled to a place in the east”. According to the above verses, Mary left her family and her acquaintances and went to a region in the east alone. There is no information regarding the age of Mary in that period and the reason of her for leaving her family. The ascriptions for Mary’s leaving of her family such as “She was shy as she was subject to menstruation” or “Her pregnancy was her excuse for leaving” are nothing more than subverting the original meaning of the verse. According to our opinion, Mary has problems and she distanced herself from her acquaintances due to her problems; as follows:
The word “إنتباذ intibaz” expressed within the Ayah means “to throw something in hand forward or backward, to depart alone, to go far away, and to discharge”.[6] Hence, someone’s taking a seat at a corner which is far from humans is expressed with the word of “intebeze”. Therefore, the commentaries regarding to this that she took reclusion in the east part of her house or in the eastern corner of the chapel are contrary to the meaning of the word and the spirit of the verse. According to the meaning of the word, Mary detached from her close environment and went away departing from them. In short, Mary is a girl who escapes from home.
This condition is also understood from the expression in the verse 17 that “Then, she secluded herself from her family/relatives” because this expression means that she put a distance with her family and cut off the contact from them, not that she drew a curtain in between. An example of this is seen in the expression given in the Ayah 32 of the Surah Sad, “I love the love of wealth, property, benefits for the remembrance of my Rabb”. –At the end, they went behind the curtain.-”
The fact that Mary is in hermaphroditic nature also explains the reason that she left her family to live in somewhere else. So, Mary, as can be done by every person with problems, left her home with the psychological inconvenience caused by the difference in her body.
In addition, Mary’s expression that “No human has ever touched me” is also an expression that is suitable for her hermaphroditic nature because Mary did not say “No man has touched me” but rather she used an expression that can be used for both men and women.
No information is provided in the Qur’an regarding Mary’s life between her birth and abandoning of her family. The information given in the verses that are our subject matter is the information belonging to Mary’s adult age.
Blowing of spirit into Mary
Surah Al-Anbiya 91:
91And that woman who meticulously guarded her chastity; We informed her with our reliable knowledge. We made her and her son an evidence/a sign for the mankind.
Surah At-Tahrim 12:
12And Allah has presented the example of Mary, daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity like a fortress. We informed her but a little with Our Wahy [Revelation]. And she confirmed and implemented the words and books of her Rabb and she was of those who show respect constantly.
Surah An-Nisa 171:
171O People of the Book! Do not transgress in your religion. And do not say about Allah that which is not true. Jesus the Messiah, son of Mary, is only a messenger of Allah and His word directed/bestowed to Mary and a soul from Him; he was a person born by revelation [Wahy]. Then, believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, “Three”. Desist; it is better for you. Allah is the One and Only God. Purified is He from that there should be a child for Him. That which is in the heavens/universe and on the earth belongs only to Him. Allah is sufficient as the “One Who arranges all creatures pursuant to a schedule and implements this schedule by supporting, maintaining it”.
The expression of blowing a spirit mentioned in the first two verses given above are explained in the Ayah 171 of the Surah An-Nisa by the word of القا – ilka = leaving, transporting. The expression of Blowing a Spirit means “Informing with little knowledge.” The spirit that is specified to have been blown to Mary is not a physical blow to her womb in order for her to get pregnant but the divine messages sent through Prophet Zachariah. The content of these messages takes place in the Surat Maryam and Ali Imran as follows:
Surah Maryam 16-21:
16Mention Mary in the Book! When she left her family/relatives and fled to a place in the east.
17Then, she secluded herself from her family/relatives and We sent her our soul/divine message134 and the messenger who brought our soul/divine message to her gave her an example of a perfect human being.
18Mary said: “I seek refuge in Rahman [Allah; the One Who shows great mercy on the earth to all living beings that He created] from you. If you are a person who has entered under the guardianship of Allah/if you are takiy…”.
19The messenger/Zachariah said: “I am only the messenger of your Rabb to bestow you a pure boy”.
20Mary said: “How can I have a boy? No human has ever touched me. And I am not an outlaw/unchaste person”.
21The messenger said: “Thus will it be! Your Rabb said: ‘It is easy for me to bestow a child without a father. And We will make him an evidence/a sign and a mercy to the people from Us”. And thus it was a matter decreed.
Surah Ali Imran 42-51:
42,43And when the harbinger Ayat said: “O Mary! Surely, Allah has chosen you, made you pure and chosen you above the women of the time. O Mary! Show respect to your Rabb, submit to Him and declare the oneness of Allah with the men who declare the oneness of Allah!”.
44This is what We have revealed to you from the important news of the past which you did not have possibility to perceive. And you were not with them while they were casting their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. And you were not with them when they were disputing.
45,46And when the harbinger Ayat once said: “O Mary! Allah gives you the good tidings of a word from Him. His name will be Jesus the Messiah, son of Mary. He will be honorable in the world and in Akhirat [Afterlife]. And he will be among those who have been brought close and the righteous. He will speak with the people as an adult and in a higher position. 48And Allah will teach him the book, the laws, rules and principles that are set forth to prevent injustice, corruption and chaos and the Bible and the Torah.
49-51And He will make him a messenger to Israelites to say, ‘The truth is that I have brought/come to you with an evidence/a sign from your Rabb; surely, I design for you a clay; mud; ceramic object; thurible (censer) that resembles a bird. Then I blow into it; form an aerosol so, by permission of Allah, all that which causes illness will become a bird/fly away. I remove the blindness which is not from birth, poisoning of snake, scorpion and lizard/harmful plants in the vineyards, gardens and farms by permission/knowledge of Allah and I revive the social dead by permission of Allah. I inform you about your food that you will eat and store in your houses; save to eat later. –If you are the ones who believe, there is definitely an evidence/a sign in this for you.- I confirm the contents of Torah only which is contained in the Bible as well. I will make lawful a part of that which has been forbidden to you. I have brought to you an evidence/a sign from your Rabb. Now enter under the guardianship of Allah and follow me. Surely, Allah is my Rabb and your Rabb. Therefore, worship Him! This is the righteous path’”.
Christians allege that Mary became pregnant to Jesus when she was thirteen, that Jesus stayed in this world for thirtytwo years and a few days until He was ascended to heavens [!] and that Mary lived for six more years until Jesus was ascended. Accordingly, this means that Mary passed away in her fifties.[7]
Mary’s delivery of Jesus
We follow this subject from the Quran’s Surah Maryam:
Surah Maryam 16-34:
16Mention Mary in the Book! When she left her family/relatives and fled to a place in the east.
17Then, she secluded herself from her family/relatives and We sent her our soul/divine message134 and the messenger who brought our soul/divine message to her gave her an example of a perfect human being.
18Mary said: “I seek refuge in Rahman [Allah; the One Who shows great mercy on the earth to all living beings that He created] from you. If you are a person who has entered under the guardianship of Allah/if you are takiy…”.
19The messenger/Zachariah said: “I am only the messenger of your Rabb to bestow you a pure boy”.
20Mary said: “How can I have a boy? No human has ever touched me. And I am not an outlaw/unchaste person”.
21The messenger said: “Thus will it be! Your Rabb said: ‘It is easy for me to bestow a child without a father. And We will make him an evidence/a sign and a mercy to the people from Us”. And thus it was a matter decreed.
22Then Mary conceived the boy. And then she fled to a faraway place with him.
23Then labor pains forced her to lean on a date tree trunk. She said: “I wish I had died before this and had become a person who was forgotten completely”.
24-26Then the one who is below her; Zachariah called her: “Do not grieve, Your Rabb made a water stream beneath you. Shake the date trunk towards yourself so that ripe, fresh dates will fall upon you. Then eat and drink, and be glad. And if you see anyone from among humans, say: “I have vowed a fast for Rahman [Allah; the One Who shows great mercy on the earth to all living beings that He created], so I will not speak with anyone today”.
27,28Thereafter, Mary carried her boy to her people. Her people said: “O Mary! Truly, you have done a thing unseen. O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a bad person and your mother was not an outlaw/unchaste person”.
29Them Mary pointed to him; the one who was below her during the childbirth; Zachariah, and asked him to explain the situation. Zachariah guaranteed that Mary had given birth to the child without committing unlawful sexual intercourse and asked them to raise the child at the temple. They said: “How can we, chiefs of our people, speak to a Sabian; the one who has abandoned our religion/How do chiefs speak to a Sabian; the one who has abandoned our religion?”.
34This is Jesus [Isa], son of Mary, about whom they have been disputing according to the word of truth, and who says: “30Surely, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the book and made me a prophet. 31He has rendered me blessed wherever I am. He has given me Salah [supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community] and zaqah/tax as a liability as long as I live. 32And He has made me kind to my mother. And He has not made me a tyrant, an unhappy one. 33And Salam [health, peace, happiness…] be upon me, on the day I was born, on the day I will die, and on the day I will be resurrected again as alive. 36And indeed, Allah is my Rabb, and He is your Rabb as well. So, worship Him, this is the straight path”.
We are analyzing some points in the Surah Maryam, in this passage that includes Mary as a subject:
SOUL THAT WAS SENT TO MARY
In the verse 17 of Surah Maryam, it is stated, “We sent her our soul/divine message and the messenger who brought our soul/divine message to her gave her an example of a perfect human being.”
As we stated in various parts of our work entitled Tebyinu’l Qur’an [Manifestation of the Qur’an] the word of “soul” was always used in the Qur’an as “revelation, divine knowledge”. The expression of “Blowing a spirit” means “informing with little knowledge”. Accordingly, Allah’s sending her His Soul to Mary means that she was sent some knowledge through His messenger of Zachariah to Mary.
What is meant in this verse with the words “We sent our Soul” is informing Mary, which was expressed in another verse with “We blew our spirit”. In summary, Prophet Zachariah, who was assigned to transmit the divine information previously provided to Him to Mary and did His duty by the way of telling Mary that she could deliver a child without needing a man and shown baby John as a proof of this information. The angels specified in the verses 42 and 43 of the Surah Ali Imran are the verses sent to Mary through Prophet Zachariah.
Therefore the expression, “We sent her our soul”, in the verse 17 means, that “Mary was subject to some divine information”. However, this information was not directly revealed to Mary but sent through a messenger. This messenger is Prophet Zachariah who lived in that period.
The “Perfectly built human being” that the messenger showed Mary as an example is Prophet John who was a newborn at that time because Prophet John was delivered to the world by His sterile mother thanks to this information provided to Prophet Zachariah by giving health back to her.
تمثّل TEMESSUL (AFFINITY)
In the original of the Ayah 17 of the Surah Maryam, the expression of “fetemessele leha besheren saviyyen” is of notice. This expression has been translated by the traditionalists as “He showed Himself as a perfect human; Gabriel shown to Mary as a perfect human”. We are presenting the true meaning of this expression in its actual form:
Actual meaning of the word of “ تمثّل Temessul ” means “exampling”. However, the word was used with a second and third meaning as “disguising into a human”.[8] Those who conduct studies about the Qur’an usually preferred the distant meaning of this word instead of the actual one. In this sense, there have been the opinions that Gabriel came to Mary as a messenger and showed himself to Mary in the form of a lad in order to prevent her from being afraid.
We are thinking that the word of “temessul” must be translated with its actual meaning. Evaluation of the word here with its actual meaning is harmonious with this expression of the Bible stated below:
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. (Luke; 1/36)
Surah Maryam 19:
19The messenger/Zachariah said: “I am only the messenger of your Rabb to bestow you a pure boy”.
The messenger who brought the information and messages sent by Allah to Mary provides the objective of the information He brought by saying Mary will be a mother of zekiy [purely clean] lad thanks to this divine information.
Surah Maryam 22:
22Then Mary conceived the boy. And then she fled to a faraway place with him.
This verse provides that Mary was convinced, became pregnant thanks to the information brought by the messenger and then went to a place that was far from the place she then lived. According to some historical sources, this place is the province called Bayt al-Lahm [Bethlehem].
The reason of Mary’s second removal can be explained with the fact that “hiding her condition”. While this issue is not mentioned in the Qur’an expressly, the word of “intibaz” in the verse and that what is specified in the Ayah 23 that Mary complains as “She said: “I wish I had died before this and had become a person who was forgotten completely” demonstrates this explanation.
There are many sayings that when Mary was pregnant, she was 13; her pregnancy took 9 months for some people or 8 months, 7 months, 6 months or even 3 hours or 1 hour for some others, which were baseless and far from seriousness.
Surah Maryam 23:
23Then labor pains forced her to lean on a date tree trunk. She said: “I wish I had died before this and had become a person who was forgotten completely”.
In this verse, it is expressed that Mary reached the end of her pregnancy and her delivery comes closer. Suffering the pain of pregnancy under a date tree, Mary is both exhausted and feeling herself desperate and lonely. Her words, “I wish I had died before this and had become a person who was forgotten completely” show the severity of the concerned state she is in. These words are not the words of a woman who suffers the pain of delivering a child but the expressions that reflect the sadness and remorse of a woman who thinks of how she could hide her child she delivered in the manner that she could not explain. Because, no pregnant woman gets sad and becomes regretful because of the pains that she has during the delivery of the baby.
In the passage consisting of the Ayat 24 and 26 of the Surah Maryam, from the expression of “Shake the date trunk towards yourself so that ripe, fresh dates will fall upon you” we see that in the season in which Prophet Jesus was born, the dates were ripe. The expression of “Rutab” in the original of the verse is the stage of the dates between the months of July and August. In this case Prophet Jesus was born in the middle of summer, not in December or January.
Surah Maryam 29 and 34:
29Them Mary pointed to him; the one who was below her during the childbirth; Zachariah, and asked him to explain the situation. Zachariah guaranteed that Mary had given birth to the child without committing unlawful sexual intercourse and asked them to raise the child at the temple. They said: “How can we, chiefs of our people, speak to a Sabian; the one who has abandoned our religion/How do chiefs speak to a Sabian; the one who has abandoned our religion?”.
34This is Jesus [Isa], son of Mary, about whom they have been disputing according to the word of truth, and who says: “30Surely, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the book and made me a prophet. 31He has rendered me blessed wherever I am. He has given me Salah [supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community] and zaqah/tax as a liability as long as I live. 32And He has made me kind to my mother. And He has not made me a tyrant, an unhappy one. 33And Salam [health, peace, happiness…] be upon me, on the day I was born, on the day I will die, and on the day I will be resurrected again as alive. 36And indeed, Allah is my Rabb, and He is your Rabb as well. So, worship Him, this is the straight path”.
Mary obeyed the advice of the Messenger and fasted and did not answer to the members of the tribe despite their sad accusations. In addition to her silence, she appointed Prophet Zachariah who knew the events and who was close to her during her delivery to provide them answers. Zachariah probably told all the events to the society and convinced them as conservative Jewish society did not stone to death Mary. Otherwise, this was inevitable.
Subsequent to this event, there is no detail regarding Mary and what she did or in which places she lived. However, in Surah al-Muminun 50 we provided above, it is said, “And We made son of Mary and mother of Jesus an evidence/a sign and settled them both on a hill that had water and was suitable for living” that shows that Mary left Palestine and went elsewhere to a hill with water, which was suitable for settlement together with her son. Also in the verses of the Qur’an, it is stated that it was notified to His mother Mary before Jesus was born that He would be an eye diseases physician and food protection expert, then it is expected that Mary must go somewhere that provides education in these subjects. Hence, as we learn that Prophet Jesus was raised as a person who was an expert in the skin diseases, eye diseases, and food drying and storage, the place where Mary and Jesus went to is QUMRAN. Jesus was trained there at the ALEXANDRIA school. And when He became a physician and a food expert, Allah sent Him to Israelites who suffered poverty and fought against eye diseases, as a messenger.[9]
When Mary’s different nature in terms of gender is taken into account, the possibility of getting married and delivering other child than Jesus may not be in question. In terms of her activities, we believe that she carried out the task Our Rabb gave her through Prophet Zachariah until her son became prophet is expressed in Surah Ali Imran 42-43 as “O Mary! Surely, Allah has chosen you, made you pure and chosen you above the women of the time. O Mary! Show respect to your Rabb, submit to Him and declare the oneness of Allah with the men who declare the oneness of Allah!” as required.
Mary was a happy woman who learned the gender of her son and her mission with the messages sent by Allah through Prophet Zachariah before she gave birth to him.
Surah Ali Imran 45-51:
45,46And when the harbinger Ayat once said: “O Mary! Allah gives you the good tidings of a word from Him. His name will be Jesus the Messiah, son of Mary. He will be honorable in the world and in Akhirat [Afterlife]. And he will be among those who have been brought close and the righteous. He will speak with the people as an adult and in a higher position. 48And Allah will teach him the book, the laws, rules and principles that are set forth to prevent injustice, corruption and chaos and the Bible and the Torah.
49-51And He will make him a messenger to Israelites to say, ‘The truth is that I have brought/come to you with an evidence/a sign from your Rabb; surely, I design for you a clay; mud; ceramic object; thurible (censer) that resembles a bird. Then I blow into it; form an aerosol so, by permission of Allah, all that which causes illness will become a bird/fly away. I remove the blindness which is not from birth, poisoning of snake, scorpion and lizard/harmful plants in the vineyards, gardens and farms by permission/knowledge of Allah and I revive the social dead by permission of Allah. I inform you about your food that you will eat and store in your houses; save to eat later. –If you are the ones who believe, there is definitely an evidence/a sign in this for you.- I confirm the contents of Torah only which is contained in the Bible as well. I will make lawful a part of that which has been forbidden to you. I have brought to you an evidence/a sign from your Rabb. Now enter under the guardianship of Allah and follow me. Surely, Allah is my Rabb and your Rabb. Therefore, worship Him! This is the righteous path’”.
Hakkı YILMAZ
[1] Surah Mary 34
[2] Rabb means “The One Who disciplines and educates, One Who guides his creations to a certain target/targets within the frame of a schedule, one who programs and manages the development”. This word, in absolute terms, is used for Allah alone. As to humans, it is used in such forms as “the rabb of the house”, “the rabb of the workplace”, etc. The English term closest to this term in the context of meaning is “boss”. While having a meaning close to rabb, this word does not cover the meaning of rabb entirely as it is used only in the commercial context. For this reason, since we did not have the possibility to explain the term rabb with multiple words, we had to leave it in its original Arabic form. Therefore, our readers should keep the above mentioned definition in their minds.
[3] Lisan-al Arab v:4, p.325. “rym”
[4] Exodus: 15/20 and Numbers: 26/59
[5] Known as bisexuality or hermaphrodite. Presence of male and female reproductive organs in the same individual. In majority of the plants with flowers hermaphrodite nature is seen. [73–41]Ana Britannica; c:11, s:313)
Pseudohermaphroditism: … In the female type pseudohermaphroditism , despite the presence of the testicles, secondary sexual features and external reproductive organs are similar to those of the male. Generally, in the adolescence period, secondary sexual features specific to woman also develop. … In the male-type secondary sexual features, male-type pseudohermaphroditism, even if the testicles are present, secondary sexual features and external reproductive organs are similar to those of the female. In this case, the testosterone hormone secreted by the testicles in the fetus was unable to realize the required changes in the body for an unknown reason. In the most frequently encountered type, the external reproductive organs are completely in the form of female reproductive organs; in the adolescence period, female-specific secondary sexual features appear. However, the testicles and gamete chromosomes show that the person is a male. This type of disorder is diagnosed with the fact that in the child generally thought to be a girl, the menstruation period does not start even if she started her adolescence period. As the tissues in the body do not respond to the gamete hormones or respond them very little, and as the external reproductive organs resemble those own the female, this child is raised as a girl.
[6] Lisan-al Arab; v.8, p.429. “nbz”
[7] Kurtubi; About Surah Mary16
[8] Lisan-al Arab; v.8, p.200, 201.”temessul”
[9] The ruins of Qumran known as Kirbet Qumran are present in today’s Palestine’s Western Bank region. Situated to the northwest of the Dead Sea, to 13 km south of Eriha’s (Jericho) and approximately 40 km east of Jerusalem.
Qumran (ruins) is on a high hill overlooking the dead sea. By the side of the ruins, (to the west) the river of Qumran runs. Qumran River is a tributary of the Kidron River that comes from Jerusalem and flows into the Dead Sea.
Essenes used the water holding it with the dam on the Qumran River and carrying it to their sites through canals. Also thanks to the canals, they were able to irrigate the other orchards like vineyards and date farms in the Ein Feshkha (Einot Tzukim) region to the east of Qumran.
(Ein Feshkha is the plain area to the south of Qumran, between the Dead Sea and high hills; it is a coast)
11 caves where the Qumran manuscripts were found are dispersed along the site.)