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Mary, Sister of Aaron: Difference between revisions
→Complete Picture of the Mistake: Made a note that large scale changes have occurred elsewhere, making this one potentially more likely with an academic reference. I've also removed 'likely' meaning of Imran to 'Potential' as this line of scholarship does not seem to be widely accepted - with most agreeing it was written in the Hijaz.
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(→Complete Picture of the Mistake: Made a note that large scale changes have occurred elsewhere, making this one potentially more likely with an academic reference. I've also removed 'likely' meaning of Imran to 'Potential' as this line of scholarship does not seem to be widely accepted - with most agreeing it was written in the Hijaz.) |
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The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses and Miriam.}}In Islamic sources he is called Imran (عمران). English translators commonly choose to translate the name as Amram:{{Quote|History of at-Tabari, volume 3| | The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses and Miriam.}}In Islamic sources he is called 'Imran (عمران). English translators commonly choose to translate the name as Amram:{{Quote|History of at-Tabari, volume 3| | ||
The Genealogy of Moses b. Amram | The Genealogy of Moses b. Amram | ||
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Apologetic explanations focus on why Mary was called the sister of Aaron. But they don't say much about why she was called the daughter of 'Imran since the solution to this issue is straightforward from an orthodox Islamic perspective: The bible is a corrupted book and not everything in it is true. So when the Qur'an says that Mary’s father’s name is 'Imran then this must be the truth no matter what the bible or Christians say. As for the works of Muslim scholars and historians on the issue, they clearly consider 'Imran, the father of Mary, to be a different person than 'Imran the father of Aaron and Moses. The earliest mention of Mary’s lineage and Aaron’s linage in Islamic sources goes back to Ibn Ishaq (d.768 AD) who says that Mary is the daughter of Imran the son of Yashhim. While he says that the father of Moses and Aaron was Imran the son of Yaṣhar .{{Quote|1=[https://al-maktaba.org/book/9783/383 History of Al-Tabari, vol1. p.358]<BR>تاريخ الطبري، دار التراث، ج1 ص385|2=فولدت له يصهر بن قاهث فتزوج يصهر شميث ابنه بناديت بن بركيا ابن يقسان بن إبراهيم فولدت له عمران بن يصهر، وقارون بن يصهر، فنكح عمران يحيب ابنة شمويل بن بركيا بن يقسان بن إبراهيم فولدت له هارون بن عمران وموسى بن عمران<br> | Apologetic explanations focus on why Mary was called the sister of Aaron. But they don't say much about why she was called the daughter of 'Imran since the solution to this issue is straightforward from an orthodox Islamic perspective: The bible is a corrupted book and not everything in it is true. So when the Qur'an says that Mary’s father’s name is 'Imran then this must be the truth no matter what the bible or Christians say. As for the works of Muslim scholars and historians on the issue, they clearly consider 'Imran, the father of Mary, to be a different person than 'Imran the father of Aaron and Moses. The earliest mention of Mary’s lineage and Aaron’s linage in Islamic sources goes back to Ibn Ishaq (d.768 AD) who says that Mary is the daughter of Imran the son of Yashhim. While he says that the father of Moses and Aaron was Imran the son of Yaṣhar .{{Quote|1=[https://al-maktaba.org/book/9783/383 History of Al-Tabari, vol1. p.358]<BR>تاريخ الطبري، دار التراث، ج1 ص385|2=فولدت له يصهر بن قاهث فتزوج يصهر شميث ابنه بناديت بن بركيا ابن يقسان بن إبراهيم فولدت له عمران بن يصهر، وقارون بن يصهر، فنكح عمران يحيب ابنة شمويل بن بركيا بن يقسان بن إبراهيم فولدت له هارون بن عمران وموسى بن عمران<br> | ||
Yaṣhar married | Yaṣhar married Shamith the daughter of Binadit son of Barkiya son of Yaqsan son of Ibrahim. She (Shamith) gave birth to Imran the son of Yaṣhar, and Qarun the son of Yaṣhar. Imran married Yahib the daughter of Shamuyil son of Barkiya son of Yaqsan son of Ibrahim and she gave birth to Aaron the son of 'Imran, and Moses the son of 'Imran.}} | ||
{{Quote|1=[https://al-maktaba.org/book/9783/383 History of Al-Tabari, vol1. p.586]<BR>تاريخ الطبري، دار التراث، ج1 ص586|2=عَنِ ابْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، أنه قَالَ: مريم- فيما بلغني عن نسبها- ابنة عمران بن ياشهم بن أمون | {{Quote|1=[https://al-maktaba.org/book/9783/383 History of Al-Tabari, vol1. p.586]<BR>تاريخ الطبري، دار التراث، ج1 ص586|2=عَنِ ابْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، أنه قَالَ: مريم- فيما بلغني عن نسبها- ابنة عمران بن ياشهم بن أمون | ||
<br>According to what has reached me over Mary’s lineage, she was the daughter of 'Imran the son of Yashhim son of Amun.}} | <br>According to what has reached me over Mary’s lineage, she was the daughter of 'Imran the son of Yashhim son of Amun.}} | ||
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3- The Christian sources mistook Mary’s father’s name. | 3- The Christian sources mistook Mary’s father’s name. | ||
4- Out of coincidence, Mary’s father’s true name matches the name of Miriam’s father. | 4- Out of coincidence, Mary’s father’s true name matches the name of Miriam’s father. | ||
Christian sources consistently stated that Mary was from the family of David, so many wondered why the Qur'an would describe her as instead being from the family of Aaron. Some point out that in Luke 1:5, Elizabeth is said to be a descendant of Aaron; and in Luke 1:36, Elizabeth is said to be a cousin or relative of Mary <ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1</ref>. But being related to another person does not guarantee that one also descends from any particular one of that person’s distant ancestors (Aaron in this case). | Christian sources consistently stated that Mary was from the family of David, so many wondered why the Qur'an would describe her as instead being from the family of Aaron. Some point out that in Luke 1:5, Elizabeth is said to be a descendant of Aaron; and in Luke 1:36, Elizabeth is said to be a cousin or relative of Mary <ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1</ref>. But being related to another person does not guarantee that one also descends from any particular one of that person’s distant ancestors (Aaron in this case). | ||
It should be noted that if “sister of Aaron” has room for metaphorical interpretations, then the kinship link between Mary and Imran has no room for that since that the Qur'an not only states that Mary is the daughter of 'Imran, but it also states that Mary’s mother is the woman of Imran. This | It should be noted that if “sister of Aaron” has room for metaphorical interpretations, then the kinship link between Mary and Imran has no room for that since that the Qur'an not only states that Mary is the daughter of 'Imran, but it also states that Mary’s mother is the woman of Imran. This casts doubt on the claims of some scholars , such as A. J. Wensinck, who claimed in the Encyclopaedia Of Islam that “It is not necessary to assume that these kinship links are to interpreted in modern terms. The words "sister" and "daughter", like their male counterparts, in Arabic usage can indicate extended kinship, descendance or spiritual affinity.”<ref>''The Encyclopaedia Of Islam (New Edition)'', 1991, Volume VI, p. 630.</ref> Such a claim ignores the seeming issue of calling 'Imran Mary's father. | ||
==Complete Picture of the Mistake== | ==Complete Picture of the Mistake== | ||
Tying all of the threads together, Miriam in the book of Exodus was the daughter of Amram and a sister of Aaron. The Qur'an describes Mary, the mother of Jesus, as being a daughter of Amram and a sister of Aaron - with the exact same familial relations as Miriam. According to later hadith traditions many Muslims, including allegedly 'Aisha, understood Mary and Miriam to be the same person, based on their understanding of the Qur'anic text. | Tying all of the threads together, Miriam in the book of Exodus was the daughter of Amram and a sister of Aaron. The Qur'an describes Mary, the mother of Jesus, as being a daughter of Amram and a sister of Aaron - with the exact same familial relations as Miriam. According to later hadith traditions many Muslims, including allegedly 'Aisha, understood Mary and Miriam to be the same person, based on their understanding of the Qur'anic text. | ||
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When Christians criticized the verse which calls Mary "sister of Aaron" in the Quran, Muhammad's claimed response was that "people were named after pious persons who lived before them". Islamic scholars concluded that Mary was either called "sister of Aaron" because she was his descendant, she had a brother coincidentally called Aaron, or she was compared in piousness to a pious man from her people who was coincidentally named Aaron. All these solutions seem to be inventions, because Mary was not known to be a descendant of Aaron, she was not known to have a brother called "Aaron" and this pious man named Aaron seems to be made up by Muslims to justify the verse. On the other hand, Miriam was well-known to be a sister of Aaron. | When Christians criticized the verse which calls Mary "sister of Aaron" in the Quran, Muhammad's claimed response was that "people were named after pious persons who lived before them". Islamic scholars concluded that Mary was either called "sister of Aaron" because she was his descendant, she had a brother coincidentally called Aaron, or she was compared in piousness to a pious man from her people who was coincidentally named Aaron. All these solutions seem to be inventions, because Mary was not known to be a descendant of Aaron, she was not known to have a brother called "Aaron" and this pious man named Aaron seems to be made up by Muslims to justify the verse. On the other hand, Miriam was well-known to be a sister of Aaron. | ||
Since Mary and Miriam are both pronounced Maryam in Arabic, it's possible that Muhammad, based on the Christian stories he heard,<ref>For example from Waraqa ibn Nawfal.</ref> mixed these two women into one person when he was | Since Mary and Miriam are both pronounced Maryam in Arabic, it's possible that Muhammad, based on the Christian stories he heard,<ref>For example from Waraqa ibn Nawfal.</ref> mixed these two women into one person when he was composing/relaying the Qur'an. | ||
'''Circumstantial evidence''' | |||
It is also worth noting that despite the taking of biblical and narratives, there are large differences between them (that many devout Christians and secular historians would [[Historical Errors in the Quran|consider mistakes)]], as Durie (2018) who argues the knowledge was obtained through oral tellings of popular stories rather than a deep studying of scripture, hence the specific timelines are not kept to, notes: | |||
{{Quote|Durie, Mark. <i>The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion (pp. xxiv - xxv)(Kindle Edition. p. 27).</i> 2018. Lexington Books.|..Another riddle of the Qurʾan is the combination of remarkably numerous and diverse reflexes of Biblical materials, as well as extra-Biblical Christian and Jewish literature, alongside a striking unawareness of basic facts concerning the sources of this material. Let us consider some examples: | |||
• The Qurʾan conflates Maryam (Miriam), the sister of Mūsa¯ (Moses) and | |||
Ha¯rūn (Aaron) and daughter of ʿImra¯n (ʿAmra¯m) (Num. 26:59) with Maryam (Mary) <sup>5</sup> the mother of ʿĪsa¯ (Jesus) (Q19:27–28; Q66:12; Q3:33–36).<br>• The Qurʾan refers to Hāmān as a senior official of Firʿawn (Pharaoh), mentioning him six times (Q28:6, 8, 38; Q29:39; Q40:24, 36). The Biblical Hāmān—the name is identical—was a vizier under Ahasuerus (Xerxes) in Esth. 3–6. <br>• In the Qurʾan’s version of the story of the golden calf, someone called al-Sāmirī “the Samaritan” leads the Israelites into error in the wilderness (Q20:85–88, 95). However, in the Bible the Samaritans are the remnant people of the northern Kingdom of Israel. This ethnonym arose centuries after the time of the Exodus, being derived from the name of the city Samaria (Hebrew shomron “watch mountain”), which was only founded in the time of Omri (1 Kgs 16:24), around 870 BCE (van Beek 1962a, 1962b). <br>• In other respects the Biblical timeline has been flattened, so the Qurʾan displays little awareness of stages in the history of Israel. For example, in Q5:20–21 Mūsa¯ addresses his people before they enter the holy land, telling them to remember that Alla¯h had appointed prophets and kings among them in the past, even though in the Biblical account there were no kings of Israel until some time after Canaan was settled. In spite of this previous account, elsewhere the Qurʾan describes how the people of Israel, after Alla¯h had drowned “Pharaoh’s people” (and not just his army) in the sea, did not move on toward a promised land, but took over the farms, gardens, and buildings of the Egyptians, succeeding them (Q44:25–28; cf. Q7:136–37).<br> | |||
• Another puzzle, given the large volume of Biblical reflexes in the Qurʾan, is | |||
the surprising rarity of accurate citations of actual text of the Bible (Griffith | |||
2013, 55–56). | |||
These puzzles are a paradox of how to understand both the Messenger and his intended audience...}} | |||
We can infer from this that such a big change (and therefore mistake such as Mary/Mariam) is more likely to occur if these kinds of changes are made elsewhere. | |||
==Modern Scholarly Interpretations== | ==Modern Scholarly Interpretations== | ||
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{{Quote|The Lection of Jeremiah|“And the prophet [Jeremiah] said: ‘His coming will be a sign for you, and for other children at the end of the world.57 And nobody will bring forth the hidden Ark from the rock, except the priest Aaron, '''''the brother of Mary'''''. And nobody will unveil the tables therein, nor be able to read them, except the lawgiver Moses, the chosen of the Lord. And at the resurrection of the dead, the Ark will be the first to rise from the rock and to be placed on Mount Sinai, so that the word of the prophet David will be fulfilled, in which he said: ‘Arise, O Lord, to your resting place, You and the Ark of Your holiness’, which is the Holy Virgin Mary who passes from this world to the presence of God, she to whom the apostles proclaimed in Zion the praise of Myrrh saying: ‘Today the Virgin is being guided from Bethlehem to Zion, and today from earth to heaven’, and all the saints are gathered together around her and wait for the Lord, putting to flight the enemy who aims to destroy them.”}} | {{Quote|The Lection of Jeremiah|“And the prophet [Jeremiah] said: ‘His coming will be a sign for you, and for other children at the end of the world.57 And nobody will bring forth the hidden Ark from the rock, except the priest Aaron, '''''the brother of Mary'''''. And nobody will unveil the tables therein, nor be able to read them, except the lawgiver Moses, the chosen of the Lord. And at the resurrection of the dead, the Ark will be the first to rise from the rock and to be placed on Mount Sinai, so that the word of the prophet David will be fulfilled, in which he said: ‘Arise, O Lord, to your resting place, You and the Ark of Your holiness’, which is the Holy Virgin Mary who passes from this world to the presence of God, she to whom the apostles proclaimed in Zion the praise of Myrrh saying: ‘Today the Virgin is being guided from Bethlehem to Zion, and today from earth to heaven’, and all the saints are gathered together around her and wait for the Lord, putting to flight the enemy who aims to destroy them.”}} | ||
The use of "sister of Aaron" (here reversed as "the brother of Mary" for Aaron) is being invoked here deliberately by the Georgian author, who always uses "Mary" for the mother of Jesus and "Miriam" for the actual sister of Aaron. The Qur'an is thus not showing its ignorance here; rather the reference to Mary as Aaron's sister is a reference to the celebration of the cult of the virgin Mary in Palestine. It is thus unlikely that an uneducated pagan audience in Mecca or Medina might have understood this verse; there are several explanations for how such a complex reference could have made its way into the Qur'an, and none of them align with the traditional narrative: | |||
#The Arab audience of the northern Hijaz was not actually illiterate and pagan as the sirah and tafsir literature would have us believe, but was rather already in Muhammad's time largely Christian and intimately familiar with the literate, multi-lingual Grecophone and Syriac-speaking culture of the Byzantine near east. | #The Arab audience of the northern Hijaz was not actually illiterate and pagan as the sirah and tafsir literature would have us believe, but was rather already in Muhammad's time largely Christian and intimately familiar with the literate, multi-lingual Grecophone and Syriac-speaking culture of the Byzantine near east. | ||
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#Muhammad did not compose and preach this surah in the Hijaz, but rather in or around Palestine for an audience that would understand it; if Shoemaker in his book ''The Death of a Prophet'' is to be believed, this could have been after he personally conquered Jerusalem itself. | #Muhammad did not compose and preach this surah in the Hijaz, but rather in or around Palestine for an audience that would understand it; if Shoemaker in his book ''The Death of a Prophet'' is to be believed, this could have been after he personally conquered Jerusalem itself. | ||
=== | ==== Potential Meaning of Imran ==== | ||
When the Qur'an states that Mary is the daughter of 'Imran, it is likely using typology, an approach to scripture that sees later figures as reflections of their biblical forebears. Thus what the Qur'an is here saying, through the mother of Jewish interlocuters, is that Mary and her family were pre-figured by the family of Aaron and Miryam. This pre-figurement further plays into the links established between Mary and Miriam at the church of the Kathisma, and once again demonstrates the author’s knowledge of the Palestinian cult of the virgin Mary.<ref> Guillaume Dye, “The Qur’ān and its Hypertextuality in Light of Redaction Criticism,” The Fourth Nangeroni Meeting Early Islam: The Sectarian Milieu of Late Antiquity? (Early Islamic Studies Seminar, Milan) (15-19 June 2015): 9.</ref> | |||
When the Qur'an states that Mary is the daughter of 'Imran, it is likely using typology, an approach to scripture that sees later figures as reflections of their biblical forebears. Thus what the Qur'an is here saying, through the mother of Jewish interlocuters, is that Mary and her family were pre-figured by the family of Aaron and Miryam. This pre-figurement further plays into the links established between Mary and Miriam at the church of the Kathisma, and once again demonstrates the author’s | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
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[[Category:Jewish tradition]] | [[Category:Jewish tradition]] | ||
[[Category:Sacred history]] | [[Category:Sacred history]] | ||
[[ar:مريم_أخت_هارون]] | |||