Mary Sister Of Aaron

[فداء الرسول]

Mary Sister Of Aaron

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
رد شبهة مريم اخت هارون



This article does not attempt to address a misconception of Muslim thought per se. Rather, its purpose is to address an assertion usually put forward by some non-Muslims and some Christian missionaries to challenge the veracity of the Quran.

The assertion made is with reference to verses 19:27-28 and 66:12, which is claimed to represent an error in the Quran, or more specifically, an 'anachronism'. It is asserted that the Quran confuses Mary, the mother of Prophet Jesus, (pbuh) (Hebrew: Miriam or Maryam) with 'Miriam', the sister of Prophets aaron and Moses (pbut) and the daughter of Amram (Arabic: Imran) who existed numerous centuries earlier.

019.027-28
"Then she came to her people with him, carrying him (with her). They said: O Mary! surely you have done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron! (Arabic: Yaukh'ta haruna) Your father was not a wicked man nor was your mother unchaste"

066:012
"And Mary, the daughter of Imran (Arabic: ib'nata imrana), who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her of Our inspiration and she accepted the truth of the words of her Lord and His books, and she was of, the obedient ones"




Illustration - Joseph Islam


From the diagram above which represents the Biblical perspective, the assertion is made that mary is referred to in the Quran as the 'sister of Aaron' (19:27-28) and also the daughter of Imran (assumed to be Amram - 66.12) and therefore, the Quran confuses the two Marys which existed over a millennia apart.

It should be appreciated that naming descendants on the basis of past revered personalities has always been common practice and is often enshrined in tradition. Whether this be Mary, Moses, Aaron, John, Mark, Matthew, Luke, Paul, or Muhammad, Ayesha, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali (etc). There is no reason why mary could not have a father by the name of Imran or why Mary's name was not kept because of the reverence for the sister of Prophet Moses. (pbuh) Similarly two individuals who bear the same name each having a brother and a father with the same name does not imply that they are therefore, the same individuals.

However, it is observed that to avoid any confusion the Quran is very particular not to confuse mary (mother of Prophet Jesus (pbuh)) with the sister of Prophet Aaron. (pbuh) mary is mentioned numerous times throughout the Quran, but she is never referred to as the sister of Prophet Moses, (pbuh) which would be expected if she was a literal sister of Prophet Aaron. (pbuh) It was Prophet Moses (pbuh) who received the direct revelations from God and his reverence as a mighty Prophet of God is fully accepted by all scriptures. The fact that mary escapes mention as the sister of Prophet Moses (pbuh) is clear evidence that the Quran is fully conversant with the personalities it is dealing with.

In fact, the Quran appears to go out of its way to avoid the confusion by not naming the real sister of Prophet Moses (pbuh) so as not to confuse her with the mother of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) who may bear the same name. Furthermore, the father of Prophet Moses (pbuh) is not named by the Quran as 'Imran' so as not to confuse him with the father of mary (Imran).

Therefore, the Quran is absolutely clear that mary (mother of Prophet Jesus (pbuh)) is not synonymous with the sister of Prophet Moses (pbuh) as a person, albeit they may have the same name.

Let us note a comparative diagram.

للمزيد من مواضيعي

 

الموضوع الأصلي : Mary Sister Of Aaron     -||-     المصدر : مُنتَدَيَاتُ كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءِ الدَّعَويِّة     -||-     الكاتب : فداء الرسول

[فداء الرسول]

WHY DOES THE QURAN REFER TO MARY AS THE SISTER OF AARON?


019.027-28
"Then she came to her people with him, carrying him (with her). They said: O Mary! surely you have done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron! (Arabic: Yaukh'ta haruna) Your father was not a wicked man nor was your mother unchaste"

The Arabic term 'ukh'ta' (sister) in verse 19:28 means

(a) A sister by blood relationship from the same parent
(b) Figuratively a female in faith, sisterhood, relationship by tribe.

Foremost, it should be appreciated that the Quran contains numerous dialogues from many previous tribes, clans and individuals throughout human history. It even contains dialogues from different creations of God. None of these dialogues were spoken in Arabic. Instead, the Quran in the voice of God translates these dialogues in an expression and language which the specific audience of the Arabs could clearly understand and one which would best represent what was said at the time the dialogue took place.

Furthermore, it is imperative that one understands the context of the narrative with a view to appreciate why certain words may have been used. In 19:27-28, Mary was clearly being reminded of her association with great patriarchs such as Prophet Aaron (pbuh) who according to Jewish sources, was considered the first High Priest of the Israelites and through whom the priestly decendancy of his tribe, the Levites continued.

Mary had been under the guardianship of Prophet Zacharriya (pbuh) in a sanctuary (3:37) and had dedicated herself to her Lord. According to Biblical sources, Prophet Zacharriya (pbuh) was a priest from the decendancy of Prophet Aaron (pbuh) and hence of Levitical Priesthood if the Biblical position is to be accepted. However, according to these sources, it also appears that Mary was not herself a Levite but rather from the house of David, a Judah (Matthew 1:1; Hebrews 7:14) which would disqualify her from being referenced as 'descendant' of the tribe of Levi.

Mary's own people would clearly have known that she was not a descendant of the Levite tribe nor of the Levitical Priesthood and hence would not have referred to her as 'daughter of Aaron' which would have been expected if she was being referenced as a descendant of Prophet Aaron's (pbuh) tribe. In the Bible we note Mary's cousin, Elisabeth being clearly referenced as a 'daughter of Aaron' as she was indeed a Levite of Prophet Aaron's (pbuh) tribe.
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Luke 1:5
"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron (Greek: Thugater), and her name was Elisabeth"

Therefore, Mary's people would not have used the epithet 'daughter of Aaron', but rather, one which bound her spiritually to the priestly tribe of Prophet Aaron (pbuh) as she had remained under Prophet Zacharriya's (pbuh) auspices. Mary was clearly reminded of her 'noble associations' with Prophet Aaron's (pbuh) noble descendants when the charge of being unchaste was levied against her. In this manner, she would have been referred to Prophet Aaron (pbuh) as connected to him by faith (as a sister) and not in lineage.

The Quran is familiar with sibling epithets to denote spiritual and social relationships between members of tribes. For example:

Noah is referred to as a 'brother' of his tribe:

026:106
"Behold, their brother (Arabic: akhuhum) Noah said to them: "Will you not fear (God)?"

We find similar references for Hud (pbuh) (7:65; 11:50; 26:124), Saleh (pbuh) (7:73; 11:61; 26:142; 27:45), Lot (pbuh) (26:161) and Shoaib (pbuh) (7:85; 11:84; 29:36)

011:050
"And to Ad (We sent) their brother Hud. He said: O my people! serve God, you have no god other than He; you are nothing but forgers (of lies)"

Even the Bible is familiar with elective spiritual relationships.

Mark 3:35
"Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Lastly, the family of Imran is referenced separately by the Quran. There is a whole Surah that usually bears the name (Surah Imran - Chapter 3). It is clear that this family bears no direct connection with the Amram from the Bible, who is the father of both Prophets Moses and Aaron. (pbut)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Naming descendants on the basis of past revered personalities has always been common ancient practice. Two individuals who bear the same name each having a brother and a father with the same name does not imply that they are therefore, the same individuals.

The Quran appears to go out of its way to avoid any confusion by not naming the real sister of Prophet Moses, (pbuh) so as not to confuse her with the mother of Prophet Jesus. (pbuh) Furthermore, the father of Prophet Moses (pbuh) (and his sister) is also not named by the Quran as 'Imran', so as not to confuse him with the father of Mary (Imran).

Joseph Islam

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[فداء الرسول]

Mary, Sister Of Aaron


some people have been calling Mary addressed as Sister of Aaron(P) a contradiction. Below is the verse:



At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: "O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought! "O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!" [Qur'an 19:27-28]



It turns out that Christians in Najran during the time of the Prophet(P) raised a similar objection and it was answered by the Prophet(P). In Sahih Muslim, the hadith related by Mughirah ibn Shu`bah [5326] says:
When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read "O sister of Harun" (i.e. Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger(P) 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 Apostle and pious persons who had gone before them.
This claim of contradiction is apparently mistaken because it disregards both the Arabic idiom and the context of the verse. In Arabic the word akhun or ukhtun (Underlined with Red colour in the images) carries two meanings.
Blood brother or sister and
Brotherhood/sisterhood in clan and faith.
The above verse has used the word ukhtun in the second sense. This is not unusual as the Qur'an uses the same idiomatic expression in several earlier verses. In chapter 11 verse 78, Prophet Lot refers to the women folk of his community as my daughters.






And his people came rushing towards him, and they had been long in the habit of practising abominations. He said: "O my people! Here are my daughters: they are purer for you (if ye marry)! Now fear Allah, and cover me not with shame about my guests! Is there not among you a single right-minded man?" [Qur'an 11:78]


In Chapter 7 verses 65, 73 and 85 Prophets Hud, Saleh and Shuaib(P) are referred to as "brothers" of their respective peoples.





And unto (the tribe of) A'ad (We sent) their brother, Hud. He said: O my people! Serve Allah. Ye have no other Allah save Him. Will ye not ward off (evil)? [Qur'an 7:65]





And to (the tribe of) Thamud (We sent) their brother Salih. He said: O my people! Serve Allah. Ye have no other Allah save Him. A wonder from your Lord hath come unto you. Lo! this is the camel of Allah, a token unto you; so let her feed in Allah's earth, and touch her not with hurt lest painful torment seize you. [Qur'an 7:73]





And unto Midian (We sent) their brother, Shu'eyb. He said: O my people! Serve Allah. Ye have no other Allah save Him. Lo! a clear proof hath come unto you from your Lord; so give full measure and full weight and wrong not mankind in their goods, and work not confusion in the earth after the fair ordering thereof. That will be better for you, if ye are believers. [Qur'an 7:85]


The people of Lot are also mentioned in chapter 50 verse 13 as the brothers of Lot except for the word "banatii" which means my daughters in 11:78, all other references have used the word "akhun" which means brother.






The 'Ad, Pharaoh, the brethren of Lut, (Qur'an 50:13)

Last edit by فداء الرسول on 01.12.2012 at 11:56 .

[فداء الرسول]

And in another place, the Qur'an addresses the believers as brothers-in-faith.




The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that ye may receive Mercy. [Qur'an 49:10]

George Sale in his translation of the Qur'an says:
From the identity of names it has been generally imagined by Christian writers that the Koran here confounds Mary the mother of Jesus with Mary of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron; which intolerable anachronism, if it were certain, is sufficient of itself to destroy the pretended authority of this book. But though Mohammed may be supposed to have been ignorant enough in ancient history and chronology, to have committed so gross a blunder; yet I do not see how it can be made out from the words of the Koran. For it does not follow, because two persons have the same name, and have each a father and brother who bear the same names, that they must therefore necessarily be the same whereby it manifestly appears that Mohammed well knew and asserted that Moses preceded Jesus several ages. And the commentators accordingly fail not to tell us, that there had passed about one thousand eight hundred years between Amran the father of Moses and Amrean the father of the Virgin Mary: they also make them the sons of different persons; the first, they say, was the son of Yeshar, or Izhar (though he was really his brother) the son of Kahath, the son of Levi; and the other was the son of Matthan, whose genealogy they trace, but in a very corrupt and imperfect manner, up to David and thence to Adam. It must be observed that though the Virgin Mary is called in the Koran, the sister of Aaron, yet she is nowhere called the sister of Moses.[1]
In the Bible, Elizabeth was called daughters of Aaron(P). Was she literally a daughter of Aaron?
In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechari'ah, of the division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. [Luke 1:5, RSV]
Or Jesus(P) was addressed as Son of David in the Bible. Was he literally Son of David(P)?
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" [Matthew 21:9 RSV]
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant; [Matthew 21:15 RSV]
If we take that literally then it is also a contradiction in the Bible.
And Allah knows best.
Reference

[1] George Sale, The Koran, IX Edition of 1923, London, p. 38.