Mary, mother of Jesus, is a prominent figure in the Qur’an, having a surah named after her and being the only woman mentioned by name in the entirety of the Qur’an. She has a significant role in history, not only being the mother of a prophet, but as a devout follower of God who accepted her servitude to Him by having her birth a boy as a virgin. God accepted Mary’s dedication to him as a gift when she was still in her mother’s womb, creating her long-term devotion to the Lord and her righteous birth of Jesus. She was a pure woman God used to show how women should act, essentially being a model. Mary exemplifies many traits and performs a plethora of acts that characterize her as a devout and pious follower of God; however, there are many women …show more content…
Catholics venerate Mary, honoring the Blessed Mother for being the mother of Jesus and the Mother of God, since Jesus and God are the same through the Trinity. In the Qur’an, Mary births “the word from God” or Jesus and is a part of the Islamic Trinity, encompassing Mary, Jesus, and God (Q 3:42). While the Trinity’s members are different between the Islamic and Christian views of the trinities and the purpose it serves, the meaning is present. In the Islamic Trinity, Mary, Jesus, and God create a familial environment that encompasses the purpose of Mary. She represents the feminine nature of Islam. She is put on a level comparable to God, making her the feminine figure for the religion. With God representing the powerful masculine patriarch, an idea developed by Jewish scholars, Mary acts as a counterbalance, securing that Jesus’s message to humanity is one for thewhole of humanity instead of the predisposed idea that it is a masculine message. Mary’s importance is easily measured separately in both religions, making her a key component, tying together Islam and Christianity through the postings Mary created. Her easily recognizable strides for both religions and God’s message, Mary is the perfect example for an idealized feminine figure as the Mother in both religions. Though she is perfectly idealized, she is not a …show more content…
Angelika Neuwirth’s scholarly journal on the two houses outlines that, “the Islamic faith relies predominantly on patriarchal tradition,” and relies on one particular prophetic genealogy to develop this patriarchal society, “as the model for the House of the Prophet Muhammad [Muslim ritual uses] the House of Abraham, al-Ibrahim,” (Neuwirth 499). With the House of Abraham as the traditional masculine house that is the foundation for the Jewish patriarchal traditions and influences, “the al-Iran, thus empowered, can figure as a genuine competitor to the Abrahamic tradition. Hence, the juxtaposition of both the established and…their presentation as equals,” (Neuwirth 508). Abraham has been idealized as a biblical patriarch, further influencing the development of Jewish tradition that then penetrated Muslim tradition. To counteract this stigma, the Qur’an intentionally names Mary multiple times to show the effect the Qur’an should have on all of humanity instead of just the men and give power exclusively to the male population. The Qur’an’s intentional equaling act makes a political and religious statement about the worship and involvement of the Jewish beliefs for Abraham and the foundation of their societal views. While the Qur’an is intentionally evoking balance of genders, it is also giving weight to the pious nature and prophetic behavior of