Isa/Jesus and Maryam in the Quran – their Names and Message

The name of Isa/Jesus is frequently mentioned in the Quran as the son of Maryam/Mary, and so their mentions are linked. This aspect is not often discussed, so I will do it here, as well as analyzing how and where their names are expressed and placed in Quranic architecture. Jesus is referred as “Word” in the Quran, as well as in the Bible, for example in this significant aya, which also mentions the name of prophet Jesus in full:

˹Remember˺ when the angels proclaimed, “O Mary! Allah gives you good news of a Word from Him, his name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; honored in this world and the Hereafter, and he will be one of those nearest ˹to Allah˺. (3:45)

What Does the Quran Say about Jesus’ “Second Coming?” And about Masih Al-Dajjal, the Antichrist?

First, the Quran says nothing about a “second coming” or “return” of Jesus/Isa, nor does it mention an Anti-Christ/Masih Dajjal or anything similar. This itself is a serious omission for such a significant and unprecedented event. But there is an aya in the Quran (43:61) that is often construed to possibly “fit” the idea that Jesus might somehow be “coming back.” And there are many hadiths which mention this idea. Hence for many Muslims, it’s a done deal. But how reliable are those hadiths and do they contradict the Quran? For one thing, the Quran, unequivocally states that prophet Mohammad is the “seal” of the prophets (33:40). The word khatam or “seal” is significantly different than to say “the last” or akhir prophet. A “seal” as used in the Quran means an irreversible decree from Allah Himself, the same word used repeatedly to say Allah “sealed the hearts” of rejectors/disbelievers (4:155, 9:87, 9:93, 16:108, 47:16, 63:3). Once Allah “seals” a person’s heart, there’s no turning back. For Jesus/Isa to come after Mohammad would “break the seal” and it doesn’t change this fact that Isa was not a new prophet. In fact, it goes against the Way of Allah with his prophets, discussed below, as well as breaches the impassable barrier between this world and alghaib – the unseen, which in this case refers to Allah’s timeless realm – and this is simply never allowed. There’s no room for equivocation! 

The Power of Prostration by a Convert/Revert to Islam

This short video is a powerful portrayal of how Islam both confirms “what is in the previous scriptures” and the importance and meaning of prostration. What is especially wonderful is how no one actually told him about Islam except his preacher, who spoke of it in a derogatory way, and this alone raised questions in the man’s mind. Which led him to the Quran and Islam. (Side note: Basically I dislike the word “revert” referring to converts to Islam – in English it has a definite negative connotation like “going backwards to something inferior”, and the logic of its use, that children are born Muslim, skirts the issue of how one doesn’t really “own” this or any religion until maturity, in which case one wasn’t “Muslim” except in innocence whereas Islam is a choice. The good side of its use is it expresses there is no original sin and that Islam is not an invented dogma, but simply the truth.)

Wonderful and succinct presentation of the power of prostration.

In the Company of Prophets: The Raised Status of Mary in the Quran

Mary gave birth to Jesus alone, beneath a date palm, and her pain is described in the Quran.

In order to show how Allah the Exalted raised up the status of Mary/ Maryam the mother of Jesus/ ‘Eissa and why this is significant, it’s imperative to know the characteristics of true prophets. This is because after examining these characteristics and comparing them with Mary’s life as narrated in the Quran, it is clear that she meets all the qualifications of a prophet; all that prevented her from being called a prophet was her gender which in the society of her time could not assume a traditional leadership role or earn the degree of respect required for that role. Both her story and that of the prophets contain fascinating and revealing details often disregarded or not given much study.

Looking Deeper at Tawheed

Tawheed, the bedrock of Islam, is the immutable truth that Allah is ineffably One. It is not enough to say it is “monotheism” because Christians call themselves monotheists, but insofar as they worship Jesus the son of Mary as a god or “incarnation” or God the Almighty, All-Merciful, no, this is not monotheism and it is a violation of tawheed, sometimes translated “oneness.” The Quran is unequivocal and emphatic about this, quintessentially made clear in Surat Al-Ikhlass. In particular one needs to examine the word Al-Samad.

What Is Reality? The Quran on Truth Vs. What You Want It To Be

These days, with the proliferation of fake news and online influencers who invent entire realities to erase people’s understanding of what is true and what is false, where often the greatest deceivers present themselves as the most sincere truth-tellers, we are as a society in great need of somehow finding our way, our lost sense of reality. From another perspective, 

وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].

Surat Al-Baqara 2:42

Eid Mubarak!

Eid Al-Adha, The Feast of the Sacrifice, commemorates the occasion when Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), in accordance with a dream he saw and interpreted as a divine command, was about to sacrifice his son Isma’il when Allah called him to stop, and replaced Isma’il with a great sacrificial animal, thus sparing the life of his son, a future prophet. There is more to this narrative than meets the eye, more than one usually hears in discussions regarding this event.

The Significance of Maryam

In the Quran (Surat Al-Imran 3:42), Allah describes Maryam (Mary), who had not yet borne ‘Isa (Jesus), this way:

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَاصْطَفَاكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ

And the angels said: “O Maryam, Allah has selected you and cleansed you, and He has selected you over all the women of the worlds.

We shall show in this analysis how Allah has raised her to the level of prophet, how she meets the criteria of that level, and what this means for her gender.