http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/archive/article.php?lang=E&id=11702
Sayyidah Mariyam: The Islamic Symbol of Purity and Faith
Maryam (Mary), the mother of Isa (Jesus), (alayhima as-salam,) symbolizes a variety of lofty characteristics to the traditional scholars of Islam. She has been described as the outstanding example of the mother, and she exemplifies the qualities of submission, devoutness, faith, purity, righteousness and saintliness Two of her attributes, have been chosen for the focus of this article; her purity and her faith. As texts about Maryam are found in the Holy Qur’an and the honourable hadith, there is a substantial amount of classical commentary on the subject. The meanings of the Arabic Text of the Holy Qur’an are:
“ And when the angels said: O Maryam! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee, and hath preferred thee above the women of all nations.” (3:42)
Explications of the meaning of “purified thee” describe a range of characteristics of physical, moral and spiritual purification. Maryam was purified from any bad habits, and from the touch of man and the accusations of her people. She was purified from rebellious disbelief (kufr), and she was purified from sin, from the blemishes that are found in the religion of other women.
The following sound Hadith emphasizes the extent of Maryam’s purity, from birth to death. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah – (Alayhi Assalatu Wassalam) said: “Each person, when his mother gives birth to him, is an instinctive believer. And his parents later make him a Jew or a Christian or a Magian (Fire worshipper); and if his parents are Muslims, then he will be a Muslim. Each person, when his mother gives birth, is struck by Satan in his sides, except Maryam and her son.” (Muslim)
This Hadith stresses the Islamic doctrinal point that everyone is born pure of sin, but Satan immediately interferes, except in the case of Maryam and Isa, and also that it is one’s environment and upbringing that attempt to maintain the purity or distort it. The question may arise as to why Maryam, who was born to be eternally free of sin, devoted herself so staunchly to worship. Maryam’s worship was an indication of her full submission to her Lord’s command of obedience.
Therefore, Maryam’s intense worship indicates both her desire to fulfil her Lord’s command, and her gratefulness for having been chosen for her unique position above the women of the worlds.
In Arabic, Maryam is entitled, Al-Batul (The Virgin). She is called the Virgin Mary in the Christian context. Thus stressing the physical aspect of her purity. The Arabic word, Al Batul implies more. According to Lisan Al-Arab(The biggest Arabic dictionary), the root of Batul, “batala”, means to sever, or to cut off. Lisan Al- Arab further states that Al-Batul is the woman who separates herself from men, having no desire or need for them; thus Maryam, Al-‘adhra (the Virgin), was called Al-Batul because of her abstention from marriage, her severance from all concern with worldly affairs in order to worship Allah. Batul may also refer to physical beauty, in addition to spiritual excellence. Consequently, she is described as the most beautiful and the most excellent of the women of her time.
The fact that Maryam was chosen to abstain from marriage and sever ties with worldly affairs distinguishes her in the Islamic context, as it places her outside the realm of what is generally advised for the believers, male or female. In Islam, the injunction for the Muslim is to be morally chaste before marriage; then to marry if possible, preserving this chastity in the sense of abstaining from extra-martial relations. In this context, the following meanings of the Arabic Text of the Holy Qur’an indicate:
“Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste until Allah gives them means….” (24:33)
“For men and women who guard their chastity….. For them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.” (33:35)
The Qur’anic injunctions of the Arabic Text of the meanings of (24:33) and (33:35) apply to both men and women; thus Muslim women are normally expected to marry, even re-marry in case of widowhood or divorce. The extraordinary status of Maryam who was designated never to marry, but to remain together with her son. The exceptions to this condition are found in the special status of the widows of the Prophet who were prohibited from re-marrying after his death; according to a Qur’anic command whose meanings of the Arabic Text are:
“Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy the Messenger of Allah, or that ye should ever marry his widows after him” (33:53)
Maryam’s dedication by her mother, Hannah, to the sole purpose of worship, even before she was born, was an indication, a foretoken, of the kind of life she was to lead. Hannah’s request was accepted, thus, according to Islam, making Maryam the only female of Bani Isra’il (Children of Israel) to have been given this honor. Allah accepted her from her mother as one consecrated to Him, made her physically beautiful, made it easy for her and placed her among the pious of His subjects to learn knowledge, goodness and His religion from them.
Therefore, He made Zakariyya (Zachariya) her guardian so that she could gain this knowledge and piety from him. Zakariyya was the spiritual guide of Maryam bint Imran, Imran being her ancestral name, representing a people whom Allah chose because of their religion, because they had surrendered to the Will of Allah, the believers with respect to their acceptance of the Oneness of Allah and to their obedience to Him.
Maryam represents the epitome of sincerity in her faith. This outstanding strength of faith, which was to be tested throughout her life, was most pointedly examined when she was but more than a child. First, the angel, Jibril (Gabriel), (Alayhi as-salam), appears in the form of a perfect man in order not to shock her with his true angelic form so that she would be able to accept what he was about to tell her. Nevertheless, Maryam, the pure, was frightened and prayed to her Lord for protection from this seeming mortal and apparent stranger.
Jibril then explained who he was and what Allah had sent him to do. Upon hearing this news, Maryam submitted immediately to the Will of her Lord, and Jibril breathed (blew) some of the spirit of Allah -namely created by Him- into the hollow of the sleeve of her garment, and Allah’s command: “Kun Fa Yakun”(Be! And so it is), she conceived.
Then, when the labor pains came upon her, Maryam, the Pure, withdrew alone to give birth. There under a palm tree, fearing that she would be suspected (by the people) of evil in her religion abused and reproached and this would tempt her (i.e., lose her strength of faith), and that her family would suffer because of the slander associating her with adultery as this would be ruinous for them, she cried out to her Lord. This experience was the supreme test of Maryam’s faith. It was such a severe test that Allah took mercy on her and provided her with food and drink.
Having done so, He commanded her to fast, a fast which included not speaking to anyone for a day, a fast which was to replenish her faith such that she, Maryam, the Virgin, would be able to present to her people her newly-born baby. Finally, she set off with the infant to face the slanderous accusations of her people. In this context, the meanings of the original Arabic Text of the Holy Qur’an are:
“Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Maryam! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. O sister of Harun! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.” (19:27-28 )
Upon seeing her with this child, and having no knowledge of her having married anyone, they accused her and slandered her using the epithet: Ya Ukhta Harun (O sister of Aaron - A reference to her pious ancestors as she was of the offspring of Aaron or a reference to one of her pious relatives who was named after Aaron). But Allah redeemed Maryam the Faithful in the speech othe baby, the meanings of the original Arabic Text of the Qur’an are:
“Then she pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a child. He spoke: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me Prophet. And hath made me blessed wherever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive. And (hath made me) dutiful, kind to my mother, and not arrogant or troublesome.” (19:29-32)
According to classical scholars, Maryam is one of the great symbols of devoutness, sincerity and submission in Islam because of her extensive trust and belief in the miracles of Allah, in addition to her belief in the message that was conveyed to her by Jibril about her ensuing conception of Isa and his purpose. Furthermore, she maintained her faith in spite of the insults perpetrated against her by her own people, and thus she is emphasized in the text of the Holy Qur’an as a spiritual example for mankind. Maryam together with her son is a unified symbol to mankind of the power of Allah over all his creations. And Maryam, as an individual, is revered in Islam as a spiritual light in her own right.
I thought it had nothing to do with the people of other Abrahamic religions. This is confusing.
