Mary, mother of Jesus or sister of Aaron?
by Rasheed,
Question: How did the Quran reveal the story of the birth of Jesus so accurately?
The Quran depicts the scene of the virgin Maryam (Mary) bringing her new born baby, Jesus, to meet her people and they reprmanded her saying [Chapter 19: Mariam]:
[19:23] And the pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm-tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died ere this and had become a thing of naught, forgotten!
[19:24] Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee,
[19:25] And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee.
[19:26] So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.
[19:27] Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with a strange thing,
[19:28] O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man, nor was thy mother a harlot. [19:29] But she pointed to him. They said: How should we speak to one who was a child in the cradle?[19:30] He [Baby Jesus] said: Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet;[19:31] And He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined on me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live;[19:32] And dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me insolent, unblessed;[19:33] And peace on me on the day I was born, and on the day I die, and on the day I am raised to life.
(The Quran, 19: 23-33, Maryam)
Some Western writers and orientalist critics of Islam suggested that this was a huge error on the part of Prophet Muhammad, claiming that he confused Maryam dughter of Imran and the sister of Moses, with Maryam daughter of Imran, the mother of Jesus. Peace be upon them all.
However, recent discoveries and translation of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, completely vindicate the Quranic narration of the story and explains why Mary (Maryam) was addressed as “sister of Aaron” …..
The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal that the Jewish communities at that time , referred to their religous leaders as the ‘Priests of Aaron’. It is also revealed that they were expecting the arrival of TWO messiahs, known as the Messiah of Aaron and the Messiah of David (see scroll 1QS IX 9–11).
Another quotation from Dead Sea Scrolls (Community Rules Document) spoke of:
“In the society of the Yahad there shall be twelve laymen and three priests who are blameless in the light of all that has been revealed from the whole Law, so as to work truth, righteousness, justice, living-kindness, and humility, one with another. They are to preserve faith in the land with self-control and a broken spirit, atoning for sin by working justice and suffering affliction. They are to walk with all by the standard of truth and the dictates proper to the age.”
“When such men as these come to be in Israel, then shall the society of the Yahad truly be established, an ‘eternal planing’ (Jubilees 16:26), a temple for Israel, and – mystery! – a Holy of Holies for Aaron; true witnesses to justice, chosen by God’s will to atone for the land and to recompense the wicked their due. They will be ‘the tested wall, the precious cornerstone’ (Isa. 28:16) whose foundations shall neither be shaken nor swayed, a fortress, a Holy of Holies for Aaron, all of them knowing the Covenant of Justice and thereby offering a sweet savor. They shall be a blameless and true house in Israel, ‘upholding the covenant of eternal statutes. They shall be an acceptable sacrifice, atoning for the land and ringing in the verdict against evil, so that perversity ceases to exist.”
- Community Rule 1QS 8.1-10
I will also quote the Damascus Document -from the Dead Scrolls- in another remarkable text:
“The Lord remembered the covenant of the ancients, and raised from Aaron men of understanding, and from Israel men of wisdom. He made His law known to them, and they dug the well. ‘The well that princes dug, that the nobles of the people delved with the staff’ (Numbers 21:18). – The ‘well’ is the Torah, its ‘diggers’ are the repentant ones of Israel who left the Land of Judah and dwelt in the Land of Damascus.”
- Damascus Document – Geniza manuscript A 6.2-5
Mary was descendant of a highly regarded religous family. Is it any wonder that she was addressed as “sister of Aaron”?. It seems to be the natural thing for those who knew her piety and zeal to the Law to address her in that way.
In fact, referring to Mary as sister of Aaron, is an amazing Quranic narration which prophet Muhammad (pbuh) could not have known without revelation, and is one remarkable demonstration of the fact that the Quran is indeed the revealed words of GOD, exalted.
You make an interesting argument, but there is really little connection here. You have not established any solid reason for Mary, the mother of Jesus to be spoken of as a sister to Aaron. While priests may well be spoken of as sons of Aaron or being raised from Aaron, you still have not established one example where a daughter of a priest would be spoken of as a sister of Aaron. Without that, you have not made the necessary logical connections. If you had found a quote where a daughter of a priest is spoken of as a sister of Aaron, then you would have a valid argument. The burden of proof is on you to do this since it is your argument.
Nice chatting for you,
Peace
hkevinderr
October 15, 2007 at 12:38 am
Thanks hkevinderr for your comments. It is really a pleasure chatting to you here.
According to the Quran, Mary was much more than a priest, she was the woman chosen and purified by God, and elected to be above all women of the creation. I thought that my response to your comment merited a post, since it is an important issue which is also dear to my heart. Please read my post “Mary in the Quran” for full response to this comment.
Peace
Rasheed
October 15, 2007 at 10:38 am
It is hard to think if the world just the endeavor of “individual”. What I mean is Maryam (Mary) should not as Maryam who lived in a vacuum. It seemed that she was from Imran (Amran) family, presumably of Harun (Aaron) lineage.
There was bitter jealousy between families or tribes over the “shadows” of Moses, Aaron, David, and Solomon legacies. It seemed they had understanding that someday all of those legacies would be enlivened again with the coming Messiah. This was the “atmosphere” of claim, intrigue, politics, etc.
As just regular guy, I can imagine how those religious and politics elites were “pissed-off” to learn that the Messiah was Jesus (Isa) the son of Mary, who was not from their family or tribe. And moreover, that Jesus messages were totally against those “shrewd-up” elites.
Peace
Toro Kambali
California
Toro Kambali
July 10, 2008 at 1:38 am
Gazak Allah khairan brother Rasheed for your effort…..It really helped
May Allah accept our good deeds and always keep us on the right path….Ameen
AmatuAllah
October 24, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Thank you sister, and welcome to “hard questions”. I am glad that you found the post useful.
Salam
Rasheed
October 25, 2008 at 4:01 am
Hkevinderr raises a valid issue regarding the term “sister of Aaron” he wants rock solid proof why the term “sister of Aaron” should be used to describe and address her.
There has to be a completely sound and logical basis for this term to be used. The Quran does explain the reason but we have failed to read and understand the Quran’s beautiful narration.
The Quran says about the birth of Mary, Mother of Jesus – she was to be trained as a Priest (it was assumed that she would be a boy while still in the womb) in the temple but Mary’s mother is surprised when she delivers a girl-child because only males are allowed to be trained in the temple.
003.035 Behold! a woman of ‘Imran said: “O my Lord! I do dedicate unto Thee what is in my womb for Thy special service: So accept this of me: For Thou hearest and knowest all things.”
003.036 When she was delivered, she said: “O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!”- and Allah knew best what she brought forth- “And no wise is the male Like the female. I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected.”
Mary was given special exception due to her piousness to be trained as a priestess although this was not normally permitted and was a ward of Zachariah as the Quran explains below:
003.037 Right graciously did her Lord accept her: He made her grow in purity and beauty: To the care of Zakariya was she assigned. Every time that he entered (Her) chamber to see her, He found her supplied with sustenance. He said: “O Mary! Whence (comes) this to you?” She said: “From Allah: for Allah Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure.”
Under normal circumstances the female child would be under the protection of the father but as the above verse implies that Mary was assigned to Zakariya because she entered the temple service and was given a chamber therein.
So the Quran is self-explanatory – she was called “sister of Aaron” because she was a priestess of the temple.
And Allah knows best.
Abdul Wahid
December 11, 2008 at 6:48 am
Thank you brother Rasheed for this very informative post and for many important matters addressed in your blog – it was really very interesting reading
Abdul Wahid
December 22, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Women were not, nor could be, priests in the temple in the Jewish religion. In the Torah, Leviticus 6:8: “Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, ‘Command Aaron and his sons’” (sons, not daughters. The same at Leviticus 6.14,18 (the word ‘male’ nor female used), 20, 25 etc.
When Miriam (the sister of Aaron) got ‘ideas above her station’ God struck her with leprosy as a punishment (Numbers 12.1-16)
The idea that priests could be women is simply foreign to the Jewish Scriptures and unsupported in the historical record.
Regards, Jim
Jim
March 18, 2009 at 8:19 pm
I accept that the God in the Torah and Bible is a misogynist God but not so in the Glorious Quran.
In Islam women can achieve full spiritual and religious fulfillment.
003.042 Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations.
066.012 And Mary the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was one of the devout (servants).
And Allah knows best
Abdul Wahid
September 29, 2009 at 8:27 am
Salaam Alaikum
Can anyone tell me the age of Mary [Peace be upon her] when she delevered Jesus [PBUH], from any source / Scriptures / transcripts etc,. that is verifiable please.?
Fareed Siddique
Fareed Siddique
November 13, 2009 at 2:51 pm