Mary, Sister of Aaron: Difference between revisions

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'''Mary (Miriam) the sister of Aaron''' (and of Moses), is mentioned in the [[Quran]] in passing in reference to Mariam [[Mary]] (Mariam) the mother of [[Jesus]].<ref>{{Quran-range|19|27|34}}</ref> Many [[Critics of Islam|critics]] of the Quran as far back as [[Muhammad ibn Abdullah|Muhammad]]'s time regard this as a simple but revealing error.<ref name=":0">Mughira b. Shu'ba reported:
'''Mary (Miriam) the sister of Aaron''' (and of Moses), is mentioned in the [[Quran]] in passing in reference to Mariam [[Mary]] (Mariam) the mother of [[Jesus]].<ref>{{Quran-range|19|27|34}}</ref> Many [[Critics of Islam|critics]] of the Quran as far back as [[Muhammad ibn Abdullah|Muhammad]]'s time regard this as a simple but revealing error.<ref name=":0">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.
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.


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{{Quote-text|{{Quran|3|33}}|Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds -}}
{{Quote-text|{{Quran|3|33}}|Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds -}}


== Relevants Quotations ==
==Relevants Quotations==
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|3|35|45}}|(Remember) when '''the wife of 'Imran said''': My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee '''that which is in my belly''' as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|3|35|45}}|(Remember) when '''the wife of 'Imran said''': My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee '''that which is in my belly''' as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!


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}}


Mary, the mother of Jesus, is also called "daughter of Imran" in sura 66:
<br />
{{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And '''Mary, daughter of 'Imran, whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit.''' And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the obedient.
{{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And '''Mary, daughter of 'Imran, whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit.''' And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the obedient.
}}
}}
Imran is an Arabic form of the name Amram. Amram was the father of Moses, Aaron and Miriam <ref>1 Chronicles 6:3, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Chronicles+6:3&version=NIV</ref>. So the Qur'an mentions Mary in the same family relationship as Miriam.


===Hadith===
===Hadith===
The Christians of Najran found this mistake in the time of Muhammad. They asked Muhammad's companion about it and he didn't have a clue. He asked Muhammad and received this answer:
{{Quote|{{Muslim|28|13}}| Mughira b. Shu'ba reported:
{{Quote|{{Muslim|28|13}}| 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.}}
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.}}
Harun is an Arabic form of Aaron. His answer was that she was only called "sister of Aaron" and the reason is that Aaron was a pious man who lived a thousand years before her.
<br />{{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
 
His answer seems to be an excuse, because the Christians, Muhammad's companions and even Aisha, all understood the Qur'an to mean she is literally the sister of Aaron. Tafsir Ibn Kathir in its non-abridged Arabic version says this:
{{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.}}


So even Aisha understood the Qur'an to mean that Mary, the mother of Jesus was a sister of Aaron and Moses.
==Biblical and Talmudic accounts of Mary==
 
If really people used to name people after pious people who lived before them and Mary was called "sister of Aaron", why didn't Aisha nor Muhammad's companion nor the Christians knew about it?
 
==Biblical and Talmudic ==
Miriam, Aaron and Moses were the children of Amram (Imran in Arabic):
Miriam, Aaron and Moses were the children of Amram (Imran in Arabic):
{{Quote|1 Chronicles 6:3 <ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Chronicles+6:3&version=NIV</ref>|The children of Amram:
{{Quote|1 Chronicles 6:3 <ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Chronicles+6:3&version=NIV</ref>|The children of Amram:
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