{"id":36799,"date":"2024-05-14T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T13:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=36799"},"modified":"2024-05-13T18:13:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T22:13:19","slug":"the-virgin-mary-and-the-prophet-muhammad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/the-virgin-mary-and-the-prophet-muhammad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Virgin Mary and the Prophet Muhammad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"mary-ngl\"<\/a>

The Virgin Mary and the prophet Muhammad have a lot in common within their respective Christian and Islamic traditions, according to author Mary Joan Winn Leith. Photo: Detail of Fra Filippo Lippi\u2019s \u201cThe Annunciation,\u201d courtesy National Gallery, London.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

With another Christmas season upon us and Christmas carols in the air, I am struck anew at how much, within their respective traditions, the Virgin Mary<\/a> and the prophet Muhammad have in common. I hasten to note that I am not<\/em> suggesting that Mary and Muhammad are of equal importance in their traditions\u2014just that there are some interesting commonalities; and, of course, both Islam<\/a> and Christianity honor Mary as the virgin who miraculously conceived and gave birth to Jesus, but I want to pursue a different angle here.<\/p>\n

The similarities I have in mind first occurred to me when I was teaching the Qur\u2019an\u2019s Sura 97 (al-Qadr<\/em>, \u201cDestiny\u201d)<\/a>. This is the Sura that extolls the holiest night of the Muslim calendar, the Laylat al-Qadr<\/em> (Night of Destiny) when Muhammad received the first revelation of the Qur\u2019an. The connection I see between Mary and Muhammad centers on the significance of the Word of God in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Basic to all three religious traditions is the understanding that God, impelled by compassion, reveals to humans the way to salvation. The traditions use different theological terminology (redemption, salvation, eternal life, etc.), but in essence, God\u2019s revelation gives humans the knowledge and means to overcome the sorrow, pain and death that constitute the human condition. All three traditions describe this revelation as the Word of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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FREE ebook: Islam in the Ancient World<\/strong>. Explore Islam\u2019s biblical history and sites.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t