Mary (Maryam) in Islam

Christians who open the Qur’an for the first time are often moved to find Mary there — not as a passing figure, but as one of its most honoured personalities. She is the only woman the Qur’an mentions by name, and the nineteenth of its 114 chapters is called simply Maryam, “Mary”.

Chosen above the women of the worlds

The Qur’an describes angels speaking directly to Mary with words of extraordinary honour:

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَٱصْطَفَىٰكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَآءِ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٤٢﴾ يَٰمَرْيَمُ ٱقْنُتِى لِرَبِّكِ وَٱسْجُدِى وَٱرْكَعِى مَعَ ٱلرَّٰكِعِينَ ﴿٤٣﴾

⁴²And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds. ⁴³O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow [in prayer]."

Christian readers may hear an echo of the angel’s greeting in the Gospel of Luke: “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28, KJV). Both traditions see Mary as a woman singled out by God.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ placed her among the very few people who reached spiritual perfection:

…Many amongst men reached (the level of) perfection but none amongst the women reached this level except Asia, Pharaoh's wife, and Mary, the daughter of `Imran.…

A childhood given to God

The Qur’an tells a part of Mary’s story that is not found in the Bible. Before she was born, her mother — the wife of Imran — vowed to dedicate her child to God’s service, and prayed for her protection (Qur’an 3:35-36). God accepted the child, and the prophet Zechariah (peace be upon him) became her guardian:

فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍۢ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًۭا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا ٱلْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقًۭا ۖ قَالَ يَٰمَرْيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَٰذَا ۖ قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ﴿٣٧﴾

So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?" She said, "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account."

Mary grew up in prayer and worship, and the Qur’an presents her as a woman of deep trust in God long before the angel came to her.

The announcement of Jesus

When the angel Gabriel appeared to her in the form of a man, Mary’s first reaction was to seek refuge in God, the Most Merciful (Qur’an 19:16-19). Then he told her that she would have a pure son:

قَالَتْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَٰمٌۭ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌۭ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّۭا ﴿٢٠﴾ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌۭ ۖ وَلِنَجْعَلَهُۥٓ ءَايَةًۭ لِّلنَّاسِ وَرَحْمَةًۭ مِّنَّا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرًۭا مَّقْضِيًّۭا ﴿٢١﴾

²⁰She said, "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" ²¹He said, "Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.' "

Her question mirrors her words in Luke’s Gospel: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34, KJV). Muslims, like Christians, believe that she conceived Jesus as a virgin — not by any man, but by God’s command.

Under the palm tree

The Qur’an then describes Mary alone, in the pain of childbirth — one of the most human and tender passages in the whole book:

فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلْمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ قَالَتْ يَٰلَيْتَنِى مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًۭا مَّنسِيًّۭا ﴿٢٣﴾ فَنَادَىٰهَا مِن تَحْتِهَآ أَلَّا تَحْزَنِى قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحْتَكِ سَرِيًّۭا ﴿٢٤﴾ وَهُزِّىٓ إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ تُسَٰقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًۭا جَنِيًّۭا ﴿٢٥﴾ فَكُلِى وَٱشْرَبِى وَقَرِّى عَيْنًۭا ۖ فَإِمَّا تَرَيِنَّ مِنَ ٱلْبَشَرِ أَحَدًۭا فَقُولِىٓ إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ صَوْمًۭا فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ ٱلْيَوْمَ إِنسِيًّۭا ﴿٢٦﴾

²³And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, "Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten." ²⁴But he called her from below her, "Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. ²⁵And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. ²⁶So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.' "

God answers her distress with a stream of water, ripe dates and words of comfort. The Qur’an’s account of the birth differs from the familiar nativity scenes, but the message is clear: God did not abandon her. When she returned to her people carrying the baby and they accused her, the infant Jesus himself spoke to defend her honour (see Who Is Jesus in Islam?).

Honoured, but not worshipped

Muslims love Mary. Many Muslim girls are named Maryam, and her patience under suspicion and hardship is held up as an example for every believer — man or woman. The Qur’an calls her a woman of truth and devotion (Qur’an 5:75, 66:12).

At the same time, Islam teaches that all worship belongs to God alone. Muslims honour Mary as a chosen servant of God, but they do not pray to her or ask for her intercession. This is one point where Muslims differ from many Christians — especially Catholic and Orthodox Christians, who venerate her as the Mother of God — while sharing with all Christians a deep love for her.

A mother for both traditions

It is worth pausing on what this means. In a seventh-century scripture addressed first to a society that often undervalued women, the person held up as the model of devotion for all believers is a young woman who prayed alone in the sanctuary, trusted God when no one believed her, and carried a miracle in silence. Muslims recite her story in their prayers, and many know the opening verses of her chapter by heart.

Few figures bring Christians and Muslims as close together as Mary. In both faiths she is pure, faithful and chosen — a woman whose trust in God never failed. If her story has moved you, we invite you to read more about her son, Jesus, in Islam and about how Islam honours women.