Mary, Sister of Aaron: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
no edit summary
[checked revision][checked revision]
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
[[bg:Грешки в Корана: Моисей и Аарон – вуйчовци на Иисус]]
[[bg:Грешки в Корана: Моисей и Аарон – вуйчовци на Иисус]]
{{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=4|Content=4|Language=4|References=4}}'''Mary (Miriam) the sister of Aaron''' (and of Moses),  is a phrase used in the [[Quran]] to refer to Mary the mother of [[Jesus]].<ref>{{Quran-range|19|27|34}}</ref> From at least the 8th century, and perhaps as far back as [[Muhammad ibn Abdullah|Muhammad]]'s time, [[Critics of Islam|critics]] have attacked this verse as a simple but revealing error.<ref name=":02">Mughira b. Shu'ba reported: When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read  "O sister of Harun" (i. e. Hadrat Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: The (people of the old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them. {{Muslim|25|5326|}}</ref> In [[Arabic]] both Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary the sister of Aaron and Moses are called by the same name, مريم (''Maryam''). Skeptical Jewish and Christian scholars believed that Muhammad had mistaken Jesus' mother for Moses' sister.<ref name=":02" /> While they shared a name, according to the Bible these two women lived more than a thousand years apart. In the [[hadith]] Muhammad explains that this criticism was a misunderstanding, but, according to these same texts many remained unconvinced.<ref name=":02" /> Ultimately, it seems, the Hadith and sirah traditions came to assert that Aaron and Moses had a sister whose name was Kulthum rather than Miriam, which seems to point to the tradition’s fundamental inability to understand the context of these verses and how they relate to the two biblical Miriams.<ref>{{Quran-range|19|27|28}}.</ref><ref>{{Muslim|25|5326}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.al-islam.org/hayat-al-qulub-vol2-allamah-muhammad-baqir-al-majlisi/ Majlisi, ''Hayat al-Qulub'' 2:26].</ref> In contrast to the traditional narrative, some modern scholars have rather found in this surah a complex web of inter-textual references, pointing to a highly literate and Christian audience of the original text <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): 8</ref><ref>Suleiman A. Mourad, “Mary in the Qur’an: a reexamination of her presentation,” The Qur'an in its Historical Context, Edited by Gabriel Said Reynolds (2008): 165.</ref>.
{{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=4|Content=4|Language=4|References=4}}'''Mary (Miriam) the sister of Aaron''' (and of Moses),  is a phrase used in the [[Quran]] to refer to Mary the mother of [[Jesus]].<ref>{{Quran-range|19|27|34}}</ref> From at least the 8th century, and perhaps as far back as [[Muhammad ibn Abdullah|Muhammad]]'s time, [[Critics of Islam|critics]] have attacked this verse as a simple but revealing error.<ref name=":02">Mughira b. Shu'ba reported: When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read  "O sister of Harun" (i. e. Hadrat Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: The (people of the old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them. {{Muslim|25|5326|}}</ref> In [[Arabic]] both Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary the sister of Aaron and Moses are called by the same name, مريم (''Maryam''). Skeptical Jewish and Christian scholars believed that Muhammad had mistaken Jesus' mother for Moses' sister.<ref name=":02" /> While they shared a name, according to the Bible these two women lived more than a thousand years apart. In the [[hadith]] Muhammad explains that this criticism was a misunderstanding, but, according to these same texts many remained unconvinced.<ref name=":02" /> Ultimately, it seems, the Hadith and sirah traditions came to assert that Aaron and Moses had a sister whose name was Kulthum rather than Miriam, which seems to point to the tradition’s fundamental inability to understand the context of these verses and how they relate to the two biblical Miriams.<ref>{{Quran-range|19|27|28}}.</ref><ref>{{Muslim|25|5326}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.al-islam.org/hayat-al-qulub-vol2-allamah-muhammad-baqir-al-majlisi/ Majlisi, ''Hayat al-Qulub'' 2:26].</ref> In contrast to the traditional narrative, some modern scholars have rather found in this surah a complex web of inter-textual references, pointing to a highly literate and Christian audience of the original text <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): 8</ref><ref>Suleiman A. Mourad, “Mary in the Qur’an: a reexamination of her presentation,” The Qur'an in its Historical Context, Edited by Gabriel Said Reynolds (2008): 165.</ref>.
<br />
== Biblical and Talmudic accounts of Mary ==
Miriam, Aaron, and Moses were the children of Amram (Imran in Arabic):{{Quote|1 Chronicles 6:3 |The children of Amram:
Aaron, Moses and Miriam.}}Mary, the mother of Jesus, was the daughter of Joachim and from the family of David (not from the family of Aaron):{{Quote|The gospel of the birth of Mary, 1:1-2 |The blessed and ever glorious Virgin Mary, sprung from the royal race and family of David, was born in the city of Nazareth, and educated at Jerusalem, in the temple of the Lord.
Her father's name was Joachim, and her mother's Anna. The family of her father was of Galilee and the city of Nazareth. The family of her mother was of Bethlehem.}}
== Moses' Father ==
In Hebrew he is called Amram (עַמְרָם) with the letter ''mem'' (ם) at the end. In the Arabic Bible he is also called Amram (عمرام), with the letter ''meem'' (م) at the end:{{Quote|1 Chronicles 6:3 in Arabic Bible|أبْناءُ عَمْرامَ هُمْ هارُونُ وَمُوسَى وَمَرْيَمُ
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 Arabic original has the letter ''nun'' (ن) at the end:{{Quote|History of at-Tabari (ِArabic) <ref>https://al-maktaba.org/book/9783/383</ref>|ذكر نسب موسى بن عمران
Genealogy of Musa bin Imran (عمران)}}<br />
==Mention of Mary in the Quran==
==Mention of Mary in the Quran==
===Qur'an===
Mary the mother of Jesus is called sister of Aaron in Sura 19:{{Quote|{{Quran-range|19|27|34}}|'''Then she brought him to her people''', carrying him. They said, "O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented.
Mary the mother of Jesus is called sister of Aaron in sura 19:{{Quote|{{Quran-range|19|27|34}}|'''Then she brought him to her people''', carrying him. They said, "O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented.


'''O sister of Aaron''', your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste."
'''O sister of Aaron''', your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste."
Line 27: Line 48:
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|3|35|36}}|[Mention, O Muhammad], '''when the wife of 'Imran said ''', "My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You '''what is in my womb ''', consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing."<br>But when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. '''And I have named her Mary ''', and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah]."
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|3|35|36}}|[Mention, O Muhammad], '''when the wife of 'Imran said ''', "My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You '''what is in my womb ''', consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing."<br>But when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. '''And I have named her Mary ''', and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah]."
}}The Quran mentions prominent families:{{Quote|{{Quran|3|33}}|Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds -}}
}}The Quran mentions prominent families:{{Quote|{{Quran|3|33}}|Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds -}}
==Relevant Quotations==
==The case for a confusion mistake==
{{Quote|{{Muslim|25|5326}}| Mughira b. Shu'ba reported:
The confusion shows itself in two ways: Calling Mary the sister of Aaron and calling her the daughter of Imarn. This makes the confusion mistake to be the most obvious and the simplest explanation: Since that Miriam and Mary are called the same name in Arabic "Maryam”, the author of the Quran confused Mary the mother of Jesus with Miriam the sister of Aaron and the daughter of Imran.
 
And since that the confusion is showing itself in two ways, this makes any apologetic attempt very hard since that one not only needs to explain why Mary was called the sister of Aaron, but also needs to explain why she was called the daughter of Imran.
 
==Traditional Muslim Explanations==
'''Mary the daughter of Imran:'''
 
Apologetic explanations focus on why Mary was called the sister of Aaron. But not much is said about why she was called the daughter of Imran since that the solution to this issue is straightforward from an Islamic perspective: The bible is a corrupted book and not everything in it is true. So when the Quran says that Mary’s father’s name is Imran then that is his true name despite what the bible says. The works of Muslim historians clearly show that they 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 yashhim. While he says that the father of Moses and Aaron was Imran the son of Yashar.{{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}}
{{Quote|1=[https://al-maktaba.org/book/9783/383 History of Al-Tabari, vol1. p.586]<BR>تاريخ الطبري، دار التراث، ج1 ص586|2=وأما ابن حميد، فإنه حَدَّثَنَا عن سلمة، عَنِ ابْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، أنه قَالَ
مريم- فيما بلغني عن نسبها- ابنة عمران بن ياشهم بن أمون}}
This Islamic take on Mary’s father hugely undermines the apologetic attempts trying to explain why she was called the sister of Aaron because there’s already a big assumption being made: That the Christian sources mistook the name of Mary’s father, and that out of sheer coincidence, Mary’s father’s name is the same as the name of the father of Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron.


When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read  "O sister of Harun" (i. e. Hadrat Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: The (people of the old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them.}}{{Quote|Tafsir Ibn Kathir (non-abridged) on 19:28 <ref>http://quran.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=221&BookID=11&Page=1</ref> | وَقَالَ اِبْن جَرِير حَدَّثَنِي يَعْقُوب حَدَّثَنَا اِبْن عُلَيَّة عَنْ سَعِيد بْن أَبِي صَدَقَة عَنْ مُحَمَّد بْن سِيرِينَ قَالَ أُنْبِئْت أَنَّ كَعْبًا قَالَ إِنَّ قَوْله : " يَا أُخْت هَارُون " لَيْسَ بِهَارُون أَخِي مُوسَى قَالَ فَقَالَتْ لَهُ عَائِشَة كَذَبْت قَالَ يَا أُمّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِنْ كَانَ النَّبِيّ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَهُ فَهُوَ أَعْلَم وَأَخْبَر وَإِلَّا فَإِنِّي أَجِد بَيْنهمَا سِتّمِائَةِ سَنَة قَالَ فَسَكَتَتْ وَفِي هَذَا التَّارِيخ نَظَر
'''Mary the sister of Aaron:'''
 
The error in calling Mary a sister of Aaron was noticed very early on that there’s a Hadith attributed to Muhammad explaining this error. This Hadith is most likely a fabrication by early Muslims to resolve the error. The Hadith says as recorded in Sahih Muslim:{{Quote|{{Muslim|25|5326}}| Mughira b. Shu'ba reported:
 
When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read  "O sister of Harun" (i. e. Hadrat Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: The (people of the old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them.}}
Al-Shanqiti (d.1974), a modern Quran interpreter, listed the previous Hadith and said:{{Quote|1=[https://al-maktaba.org/book/22918/1426 Adhwa' Al-Bayan by Al-Shanqiti, vol.3 p.414,415 ]<BR>  أضواء البيان للشنقيطي، دار الفكر، ج3 ص414،415|2=This authentic Hadith disproves the opinions that say Mary is Aaron’s sister or that she was a descendant of Aaron. And since that the Aaron mentioned in the verse isn’t Aaron the brother of Moses, some scholars say that Mary had a brother called Aaron, and others say that Aaron mentioned in the verse was a man from her tribe who was known for being a righteous man. Which means that “sister of Aaron” means she’s as righteous as him. When two things are similar, it’s a known metaphorical style in the Quran and Arabic to call one of them a brother (or a sister) of the other. 
 
" وَبِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ الصَّحِيحِ الَّذِي رَأَيْتَ إِخْرَاجَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْجَمَاعَةِ لَهُ ، وَقَدْ قَدَّمْنَاهُ بِلَفْظِهِ عِنْدَ مُسْلِمٍ فِي صَحِيحِهِ : تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ قَوْلَ مَنْ قَالَ: إِنَّ الْمُرَادَ هَارُونُ أَخُو مُوسَى ، بَاطِلٌ ؛ سَوَاءٌ قِيلَ إِنَّهَا أُخْتُهُ، أَوْ أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِأَنَّهَا أُخْتُهُ : أَنَّهَا مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ، كَمَا يُقَالُ لِلرَّجُلِ: يَا أَخَا تَمِيمٍ، وَالْمُرَادُ يَا أَخَا بَنِي تَمِيمٍ ; لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ تَمِيمٍ ...
وَإِذَا حَقَّقْتَ أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِهَارُونَ فِي الْآيَةِ غَيْرُ هَارُونَ أَخِي مُوسَى، فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ، قَالَ: إِنَّ لَهَا أَخًا اسْمُهُ هَارُونَ، وَبَعْضَهُمْ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ هَارُونَ الْمَذْكُورَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ قَوْمِهَا مَشْهُورٌ بِالصَّلَاحِ، وَعَلَى هَذَا فَالْمُرَادُ بِكَوْنِهَا أُخْتَهُ أَنَّهَا تُشْبِهُهُ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ وَالتَّقْوَى، وَإِطْلَاقُ اسْمِ الْأَخِ عَلَى النَّظِيرِ الْمُشَابِهِ مَعْرُوفٌ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَفِي كَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ.."}}
According to Al-Shanqiti, the Hadith can mean either of these two things:
 
'''A- Mary had a brother who was named Aaron.'''
 
This explanation is too convenient and too forced as it includes the following assumptions:
 
1- The Christian sources mistook Mary’s father’s name.
 
2- The Christian sources ignored mentioning that Mary had a brother.
 
3- Mary’s father’s true name matches the name of Miriam’s father out of coincidence.
 
4- Mary’s brother’s name matches the name of Miriam’s brother out of coincidence.
 
 
Christian sources say Mary’s father was named Joachim, and they don't mention she had a brother called Aaron. And if she had a brother called Aaron, then the question still is, why is she called "sister of Aaron"? If this brother is so important that he had to be mentioned with her name, why don't we hear more about him? It is much more probable that the author of the Qur'an thought that she really is the sister of Aaron and Moses, and so in the Qur'an people called her "sister of Aaron" to emphasize her social status.
 
In other words, the people asked "How can you have a baby without a husband, when you are from such a moral family".
 
 
The other possible explanation of the Hadith is:
 
'''B- There was a known righteous man in Mary’s people called Aaron. And “Sister of Aaron” is a metaphor for “Mary is as righteous as this man called Aaron”.'''
 
This explanation is also too convenient and too forced as it includes the following assumptions:
 
1- The word “sister” in the verse shouldn’t be understood literally. Rather, it’s a metaphor meaning “similar to”.
 
2- Out of coincidence, the name of the righteous man that Mary was compared to matches the name of Miriam’s brother.
 
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.
 
 
There’s nothing in the Quran indicating that the verse shouldn’t be understood literally. Actually, an early report shows clearly that Ayisha, Muhammad’s wife, understood the verse literally:{{Quote|Tafsir Ibn Kathir (non-abridged) on 19:28 <ref>http://quran.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=221&BookID=11&Page=1</ref> | وَقَالَ اِبْن جَرِير حَدَّثَنِي يَعْقُوب حَدَّثَنَا اِبْن عُلَيَّة عَنْ سَعِيد بْن أَبِي صَدَقَة عَنْ مُحَمَّد بْن سِيرِينَ قَالَ أُنْبِئْت أَنَّ كَعْبًا قَالَ إِنَّ قَوْله : " يَا أُخْت هَارُون " لَيْسَ بِهَارُون أَخِي مُوسَى قَالَ فَقَالَتْ لَهُ عَائِشَة كَذَبْت قَالَ يَا أُمّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِنْ كَانَ النَّبِيّ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَهُ فَهُوَ أَعْلَم وَأَخْبَر وَإِلَّا فَإِنِّي أَجِد بَيْنهمَا سِتّمِائَةِ سَنَة قَالَ فَسَكَتَتْ وَفِي هَذَا التَّارِيخ نَظَر


<br>
<br>


It was narrated from Ibn Jarir, narrated from Yaqub, narrated from Ibn U’laya, narrated from Sa’id Ibn Abi Sadaqa, narrated from Muhammad Ibn Sireen who stated that he was told that Ka’b said the verse that reads, "O sister of Harun (Aaron)!" (of Sura 19:28) does not refer to Aaron the brother of Moses. Aisha replied to Ka’b, "You have lied." Ka’b responded, "O Mother of the believers! If the prophet, may Allah’s prayers be upon him, has said it, and he is more knowledgeable, then this is what he related. Besides, I find the difference in time between them (Jesus and Moses) to be 600 years." He said that she remained silent.}}
It was narrated from Ibn Jarir, narrated from Yaqub, narrated from Ibn U’laya, narrated from Sa’id Ibn Abi Sadaqa, narrated from Muhammad Ibn Sireen who stated that he was told that Ka’b said the verse that reads, "O sister of Harun (Aaron)!" (of Sura 19:28) does not refer to Aaron the brother of Moses. Aisha replied to Ka’b, "You have lied." Ka’b responded, "O Mother of the believers! If the prophet, may Allah’s prayers be upon him, has said it, and he is more knowledgeable, then this is what he related. Besides, I find the difference in time between them (Jesus and Moses) to be 600 years." He said that she remained silent.}}
==Biblical and Talmudic accounts of Mary==
And the mere fact we have a report attributed to Muhammad trying to explain the confusion means that the verse was understood literally.
Miriam, Aaron, and Moses were the children of Amram (Imran in Arabic):{{Quote|1 Chronicles 6:3 |The children of Amram:
 
The only reason for not taking the verse literally is to avoid the confusion mistake. Which violates the scientific methodology since that these metaphorical interpretations already assume the conclusion: The Quran cannot make a confusion mistake.
 
Plus, where did this “Aaron the righteous man” come from? There’s no mention of him whatsoever in the Quran. He’s only mentioned in Islamic interpretations of this verse. If there’s no mention of him in Christian or Jewish sources then it’s clear he was made up by Muslims to solve the mistake in the verse.
 
Here are the Mentions of Aaron the righteous man in Al-Tabari’s interpretation:{{Quote|1=[https://al-maktaba.org/book/43/10190 Tafsir Al-Tabari,Mu'assasat Al-Risalah, vol.18 p.186 ]<BR>  تفسير الطبري، مؤسسة الرسالة، ج18 ص186|2=Qatadah (d.735 AD) said: Aaron was a righteous man from the Israelites. So Mary was compared to him.
Qatadah also said: Mary belonged to a house known for righteousness. Aaron was a righteous man popular in his tribe. He wasn’t Aaron the brother of Moses. He was a different Aaron. Forty thousand people attended his funeral. They were all called Aaron from the Israelites.
 
حدثنا الحسن، قال: أخبرنا عبد الرزاق، قال: أخبرنا معمر، عن قتادة، في قوله (يَاأُخْتَ هَارُونَ) قال: كان رجلا صالحًا في بني إسرائيل يسمى هارون، فشبَّهوها به، فقالوا: يا شبيهة هارون في الصلاح.
حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة، قوله (يَاأُخْتَ هَارُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا) قال: كانت من أهل بيت يُعرفون بالصلاح، ولا يُعرفون بالفساد ومن الناس من يُعرفون بالصلاح ويتوالدون به، وآخرون يُعرفون بالفساد ويتوالدون به، وكان هارون مصلحا محببا في عشيرته، وليس بهارون أخي موسى، ولكنه هارون آخر. قال: وذُكر لنا أنه شيع جنازته يوم مات أربعون ألفا، كلهم يسمون هارون من بني إسرائيل}}
 
 
Another traditional explanation mentioned by Quran interpreters is that “sister of Aaron” means “descendant of Aaron”. Ibn Kathir (d.1373) , the most popular Quran interpreter, says:{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2684&Itemid=75 Maryam with Al-Masih before the People, Their Rejection of Her and His Reply to Them]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(O sister of Harun!) referring to the brother of Musa, because she was of his descendants. This is similar to the saying, `O brother of Tamim,' to one who is from the Tamimi tribe, and `O brother of Mudar,' to one who is from the Mudari tribe. It has also been said that she was related to a righteous man among them whose name was Harun and she was comparable to him in her abstinence and worship.}}This explanation is also too convenient and too forced as it includes the following assumptions:


Aaron, Moses and Miriam.}}Mary, the mother of Jesus, was the daughter of Joachim and from the family of David (not from the family of Aaron):{{Quote|The gospel of the birth of Mary, 1:1-2 |The blessed and ever glorious Virgin Mary, sprung from the royal race and family of David, was born in the city of Nazareth, and educated at Jerusalem, in the temple of the Lord.
1- The word “sister” in the verse shouldn’t be understood literally. Rather, it’s a metaphor meaning “descendant of”.


Her father's name was Joachim, and her mother's Anna. The family of her father was of Galilee and the city of Nazareth. The family of her mother was of Bethlehem.}}
2- Mary is called a descendant of Aaron despite the fact that Christian sources state that she was from the family of David.
==Traditional Muslim Explanations==
Ibn Kathir gave the following explanation in his tafsir:{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2684&Itemid=75 Maryam with Al-Masih before the People, Their Rejection of Her and His Reply to Them]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(O sister of Harun!) referring to the brother of Musa, because she was of his descendants. This is similar to the saying, `O brother of Tamim,' to one who is from the Tamimi tribe, and `O brother of Mudar,' to one who is from the Mudari tribe. It has also been said that she was related to a righteous man among them whose name was Harun and she was comparable to him in her abstinence and worship.}}That he mentioned two alternative explanations suggests he was unsure regarding the certainty of either of them.
==="Sister of Aaron means a descendant of Aaron"===
The Qur'an says "sister (أُخْتَ) of Aaron" and people understood the verse to literally mean "sister of Aaron". Only after this relation was criticized as an error did it become instead understood as a metaphor meaning "a descendant of Aaron". 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).


Furthermore, if she was a known descendant of Aaron, then one wonders why the learned Arab Christians (and Aisha and Mughira b. Shu'ba) of Muhammad's time were unaware of this.
3- The Christian sources mistook Mary’s father’s name.


The additional description of her as the "daughter of Amram (Imran)" in Surahs 3 and 66 appears to make the matter even foggier and more clearly problematic.
4- Out of coincidence, Mary’s father’s true name matches the name of Miriam’s father.
==="Mary coincidentally had a father called Imran and a brother called Aaron"===
Christian sources say her father was named Joachim, and they don't mention she had a brother called Aaron. And if she had a brother called Aaron, then the question still is, why is she called "sister of Aaron"? If this brother is so important that he had to be mentioned with her name, why don't we hear more about him? It is more probable that the author of the Qur'an thought that she really is the sister of Aaron and Moses, and so in the Qur'an people called her "sister of Aaron" to emphasize her social status.{{Quote|{{Quran|19|28}}|O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.}}In other words, the people asked "How can you have a baby without a husband, when you are from such a moral family".


==Moses' Father==
In Hebrew he is called Amram (עַמְרָם) with the letter ''mem'' (ם) at the end. In the Arabic Bible he is also called Amram (عمرام), with the letter ''meem'' (م) at the end:{{Quote|1 Chronicles 6:3 in Arabic Bible|أبْناءُ عَمْرامَ هُمْ هارُونُ وَمُوسَى وَمَرْيَمُ


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).


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
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 Quran not only states that Mary is the daughter of Imran, but it also states that Mary’s mother is the woman of Imran. This disproves A. J. Wensinck’s claim 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>


}}The Arabic original has the letter ''nun'' (ن) at the end:{{Quote|History of at-Tabari (ِArabic) <ref>https://al-maktaba.org/book/9783/383</ref>|ذكر نسب موسى بن عمران
A. J. Wensinck also says: “Muslim tradition is clear that there are eighteen centuries between the Biblical ‘Amram and the father of Maryam.


But the Muslim tradition makes this distinction thanks to the bible and the Christian sources, not the Quran. Any straightforward reading of the Quran shows clearly that Mary is the sister of Moses and Aaron and their father is Imran. Of course, the Muslim tradition will not adopt this view since it means that the Quran has made a mistake.
Genealogy of Musa bin Imran (عمران)}}Miriam 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 - in the same family relationship as Miriam. Many people, including Aisha, understood Mary and Miriam to be the same person, based on their understanding of the Qur'anic text.
<br />
==A summary ==
Miriam 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 - in the same family relationship as Miriam. Many people, including Aisha, understood Mary and Miriam to be the same person, based on their understanding of the Qur'anic text.


When Christians criticized the verse which calls Mary "sister of Aaron" in the Quran, Muhammad's 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 or she had a brother coincidentally called Aaron. Both these solutions seem to be inventions, because Mary was not known to be a descendant of Aaron and she was not known to have a brother called "Aaron". 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 seems 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 making up the Qur'an.
Since Mary and Miriam are both pronounced Maryam in Arabic, it's most likely 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 making up the Qur'an.


==Modern Scholarly Interpretations==
==Modern Scholarly Interpretations==
Autochecked users, em-bypass-1, em-bypass-2, recentchangescleanup
164

edits

Navigation menu