In December Iceland fills with lights, and in churches, schools and on the radio people sing about Mary and the child. Many Icelanders are surprised to hear that Muslims love this mother and this son too. In the Qur’an they are called Maryam and ʿĪsā.
Maryam is the only woman the Qur’an mentions by name. Her name appears 34 times, and the nineteenth surah is simply called Maryam. ʿĪsā is one of the greatest prophets in Islam, and no one can be a Muslim without believing in him.
Maryam, chosen above all women
The Qur’an does not present Maryam as a side character in her son’s story. She is chosen in her own right, and the angels speak to her directly:
وَإِذۡ قَالَتِ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرۡيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصۡطَفَىٰكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَٱصۡطَفَىٰكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَآءِ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ
And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds
The Prophet ﷺ spoke of her in the same way:
خَيْرُ نِسَائِهَا مَرْيَمُ ابْنَةُ عِمْرَانَ، وَخَيْرُ نِسَائِهَا خَدِيجَةُ
“The best of the women of her time was Maryam, daughter of ʿImrān, and the best of the women of her time was Khadījah.”
And he said that she and her son were protected from their very first moment:
مَا مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مَوْلُودٌ إِلاَّ يَمَسُّهُ الشَّيْطَانُ حِينَ يُولَدُ، فَيَسْتَهِلُّ صَارِخًا مِنْ مَسِّ الشَّيْطَانِ، غَيْرَ مَرْيَمَ وَابْنِهَا
“No child of Adam is born without Satan touching it at the moment of birth, so that it cries out from his touch, except Maryam and her son.”
Abu Hurayrah, who narrated this, recalled the prayer of Maryam’s mother when she gave birth to her: “I seek refuge for her in You, and for her descendants, from Satan the outcast” (3:36).
The birth beneath the palm tree
The account of ʿĪsā’s birth in Surah Maryam is one of the most beautiful passages in the Qur’an. Maryam had withdrawn from her family when an angel appeared to her in the form of a man and brought her news of a son. She answered as any young woman would:
قَالَتۡ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي غُلَٰمٞ وَلَمۡ يَمۡسَسۡنِي بَشَرٞ وَلَمۡ أَكُ بَغِيّٗا
She said, "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste
The angel replied that this was easy for God. Then the hour came, and she was alone:
فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلۡمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذۡعِ ٱلنَّخۡلَةِ قَالَتۡ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي مِتُّ قَبۡلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسۡيٗا مَّنسِيّٗا
And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, "Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten
The Qur’an does not hide the pain and the fear. But the answer comes at once:
فَنَادَىٰهَا مِن تَحۡتِهَآ أَلَّا تَحۡزَنِي قَدۡ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحۡتَكِ سَرِيّٗا
But he called her from below her, "Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream
وَهُزِّيٓ إِلَيۡكِ بِجِذۡعِ ٱلنَّخۡلَةِ تُسَٰقِطۡ عَلَيۡكِ رُطَبٗا جَنِيّٗا
And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates
In the Qur’an, ʿĪsā is not born in a stable but beneath a palm tree, and his mother is given dates and water.
When Maryam brought the child to her people, she was accused. She said nothing, but pointed to the child. And the child spoke from the cradle:
قَالَ إِنِّي عَبۡدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِيَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيّٗا
[Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet
Who is ʿĪsā in Islam?
The Qur’an gives him titles no other prophet carries. He is al-Masīḥ, the Messiah, and “a word from God”:
إِذۡ قَالَتِ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرۡيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٖ مِّنۡهُ ٱسۡمُهُ ٱلۡمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ وَجِيهٗا فِي ٱلدُّنۡيَا وَٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ وَمِنَ ٱلۡمُقَرَّبِينَ
[And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah]
He was given the Injīl, the Gospel (5:46). By God’s permission he healed the blind and the leper and brought the dead back to life (3:49). Muslims believe he will return before the end of time (Sahih al-Bukhari 3448).
Where we part ways
It is better to say it clearly and courteously than to hide it: Muslims and Christians do not believe the same thing about ʿĪsā.
In Islam, ʿĪsā is a prophet and a servant of God, not the son of God. The Qur’an says so straight after the story of his birth:
مَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ أَن يَتَّخِذَ مِن وَلَدٖۖ سُبۡحَٰنَهُۥٓۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمۡرٗا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a son; exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to it, "Be," and it is
Being born without a father does not make him divine, any more than Adam, who had neither father nor mother:
إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ ءَادَمَۖ خَلَقَهُۥ مِن تُرَابٖ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was
And about the crucifixion the Qur’an says:
وَقَوۡلِهِمۡ إِنَّا قَتَلۡنَا ٱلۡمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمۡۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخۡتَلَفُواْ فِيهِ لَفِي شَكّٖ مِّنۡهُۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنۡ عِلۡمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينَۢا
And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain
According to the Qur’an, God raised him up to Himself (4:158). This is a real difference, and it need not spoil anything. Friends can disagree on the biggest questions and still respect each other.
What we share
A Muslim believes in all the prophets, and ʿĪsā is one of them:
قُولُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡنَا وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٰهِـۧمَ وَإِسۡمَٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوبَ وَٱلۡأَسۡبَاطِ وَمَآ أُوتِيَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَآ أُوتِيَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ أَحَدٖ مِّنۡهُمۡ وَنَحۡنُ لَهُۥ مُسۡلِمُونَ
Say, [O believers], "We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him
The Prophet ﷺ said of ʿĪsā:
أَنَا أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ، وَالأَنْبِيَاءُ إِخْوَةٌ لِعَلاَّتٍ، أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ شَتَّى، وَدِينُهُمْ وَاحِدٌ
“I am the closest of all people to ʿĪsā, son of Maryam, in this world and the next. The prophets are brothers with one father and different mothers, and their religion is one.”
And on the night journey, when the Prophet ﷺ was taken from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there up through the heavens, he met ʿĪsā. You can read about the journey in The journey by night.
When a colleague or a neighbour asks you in December what Muslims say about Jesus, this is a good answer: we love him too. We tell the story of Maryam beneath the palm tree, and we wish peace upon him, as he did himself in the cradle:
وَٱلسَّلَٰمُ عَلَيَّ يَوۡمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوۡمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوۡمَ أُبۡعَثُ حَيّٗا
And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive
More on living in harmony with neighbours of another faith is in the articles Making a home here and The neighbour.