Muslims, Why is Mary the mother of Christ referred to in the Qu'ran as Mariam the sister of Aaron?

Question

Exodus 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances

This is 1500 years before the birth of Mary the mother of Christ.

Answer 1

It turns out that Christians in Najran during the time of the Prophet (s) raised a similar objection and it was answered by the Prophet (s). 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 (s) 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 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.

Peace

Answer 2

short answer:

"sister" or "brother" in arabic dose not only or forcibly mean blood brotherhood/sisterhood.

even in most arabic dialects spoken nowadays, people say that x is a brother to y meaning x looks exactly or acts exactly or have the same characteristics/properties as y.

in the Quran, God had made it clear that the bounds of religion are much stronger and more important then blood bounds.

Proof:

ونادى نوح ربه فقال رب ان ابني من اهلي وان وعدك الحق وانت احكم الحاكمين

And Noah called upon his Lord, and said: "O my Lord! surely my son is of my family! and Thy promise is true, and Thou art the justest of Judges!"

قَالَ يَا نُوحُ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ إِنَّهُ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ فَلاَ تَسْأَلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنِّي أَعِظُكَ أَن تَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ

He (God) said: "O Noah! He is not of thy family: For his conduct is unrighteous. So ask not of Me that of which thou hast no knowledge! I give thee counsel, lest thou act like the ignorant!"

@Asker:

that's exactly the point, it has nothing to do with being evil or good. i just demonstrated to you that in arabic and therefore in Quran, deed and faith ties are stronger than blood ties.

another example is that Jews used to call each other or the righteous among them "son of God" and it did not mean that physically a person is a son of God...

and again, in NOWADAYS arabic countries, brother or sister means also LIKE or SAME, OK?

and lets suppose that Marie had actually a brother called haron, (just assuming) . then why in the world the Quran will even state "...sister of Haroun..."?

-and if i am mistaking her for the sister of the Prophet Haroon brother of Moses, and if i would have to fake it, i would write rather "sister of Moses..." since he is more known...

the fact is that they (Her People) compared her to Haroun because of the similarities that the Jews saw between her and Haroun, mostly the peacefulness of soul, forgiveness, passion etc... while Moses was known to be loud (in the right way), strong and couldn't stand seeing something wrong without changing it...

----

@Asker

you said :"..There is absolutely no history in Judaism.." well, there is no history in Islam too where a woman is called like that, so its definitely not a Muslim or Arabic tradition neither.

Answer 3

This answerer (sami) made it simple and plain.

Answer 4

Here's another similarity.  Miriam (sister of Moses) in the Bible is the daughter of Amram.  Mary (mother of Jesus) in the quran is the daughter of 'Imran.  Amram is Imran in Arabic.  

So now Miriam and Mary have the same name, the same brother and the same father.  Wow.  What a coincidence!!

Answer 5

Hi djmantx

Mary was not at the same time the mother of Jesus and the sister of Moses and Aaron (~1450 BC.) as Sura 19:28 says. In the context of the virgin birth of Christ, Sura 19:28 says "O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!

Some Muslims tell us that this was because Mary and her cousin Elisabeth came from a priestly family and were thus sisters of their ancestor Aaron. However, Mary came from Judah and David, not Aaron, and it was Mary that was addressed here. So if the All-Knowing God did not err here, then who did?

lg *Sternchen*

Answer 6

By: Shahid Bin Waheed شاهد بن وحيد



بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمدلله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على اشرف الانبياء وسيدالمرسلين نبينا محمد صل ا لله عليه وعلى آله واصحابه وازواجه اجمعين - امابعد

All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Sustainer of the Universe, and blessing and salutation to be the most distinguish of the Messengers and foremost among the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allaah be on him and on his wives, children and Companions.



In this treatise and/or refutation we will discuss the plain ignorance of forces of falsehood on the subject whether Maryam مريم is/was sister of Harun هارون [عليه السلام]? And in what context Glorious Qur’aan has used the word “Ukhtu Harun? We will also establish that these heretics [A & B] who attack Islaam and Qur’aan are absolutely clueless of Arabic grammar and linguistics.



Anti-Islaam forces love to deceptively use the different English translations of Qur’aan [the word of man] as pretext to attack Qur’aan and Islaam. In this case the translation of Ayaat آيات 19:27-28 is used. Readers must know that simple use of common sense and careful reading can expose the trickery and verbal gymnastics of those who love to spread disinformation. Therefore, we will first present the Ayaat آيات 19:27-28 in the original language Arabic, in which they were revealed by Allaah upon Prophet Muhammad محمد صلی الله عليه وسلم,



Surah Maryam 27-28

فَأَتَتْ بِهِ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُهُ قَالُوا يَا مَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْئًا فَرِيًّا (27) يَا أُخْتَ هَارُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا (28)

Then she brought him (the baby) to her people, carrying him. They said: "O Maryam! Indeed you have brought a thing Fariyy (a mighty thing). (Tafsir Al-Tabari)[28] "O sister (i.e. the like) of Hârûn {1}! Your father was not a man who used to commit adultery, nor your mother was an unchaste woman."

{1} (V.19: 28) This Hârûn is not the brother of Mûsâ, but he was another pious man at the time of Maryam.



Readers must notice that in the Ayaah آيه 19:27 يَا مَرْيَمُ [O Maryam] is used as address and then in next Ayaah آيه 19:28 it is followed by idiomatic expression i.e. يَا أُخْتَ هَارُونَ ["O sister (i.e. the like) of Hârûn]. So how the idiomatic expression and/or use of أُخْتَ هَارُونَ automatically connotes to biological sister? In fact, it doesn’t; except the gross misrepresentation of truth and distortion. The word أُخْتَ Ukthun is derived from the root letters أ خ و, thus, أُخْتَ Ukhtun (sister) and أَخِي Akhi [brother] (also derived from the same root letters) in Arabic connotes to the following:

Female and/or male person having the same parents as another or a female and/or male having only one parent in common; Person of same descent, land, creed or faith with other or others; Brother; Friends; Companion; Match; Fellow of a pair; Kinsman; Intimately acquainted.



Reader must note that the root cited above with its twelve forms has been used in the Glorious Qur’aan 97 (ninety-seven) times. One might ask this question to the forces of falsehood that under what translation rule and/or grammar rule, forces of falsehood asserts that Qur’aan in Ayaah 19:28 means biological sister?



The Glorious Qur’aan has used this idiomatic expression i.e. أُخْتَ هَارُونَ for Maryam مريم in the language of the Yahud and/or Israelites. Also like Akh the word Ukht is frequently used in Arabic for cooperation, similarity in religion, nationality and trade. Thus, linguistically this idiomatic expression might be referring to Apostle Harun هارون who was famous for his nobility and piety among Israelites, even more than Musa عليه السلام. Harun هارون might be a contemporary of Maryam مريم and might be well known among the people of that time. It is also possible that Harun هارون might be the name of a noble and pious brother of Maryam مريم, as there exist no detail of the Children of Imran (Maryam’s father). These three possibilities are tenable.



Forces of falsehood also put forward a multipurpose illusion to obscure and obfuscate the truth and to upgrade themselves with reference of so-called “Christians of Najran.” Let it be known by all that there were no Christians in Najran, they were rather misguided Nasranis نصرانی mentioned in the Qur’aan. These نصرا volunteered to pay Jizyah after backing off from a Mubahala with Prophet of Islaam Muhammad محمد صلی الله عليه وسلم, when their elite delegation conceded defeat on the issue of godhood of Isa عيسى عليه السلام followed by their willful conversion to Islaam. Thus, the cockamamie story about the so-called Christians of Najran is nothing more than a usual fabrication on Christians’ part.



What is needed from the forces of falsehood, is the absolute and conclusive proof supporting their gobbledygook, which asserts that Qur’aan in Ayaah آيه 19:28 literally means Harun Ayaah آيه 19:28 is the biological brother of Maryam مريم? How ironic that Jesus can be son of god with absolute absurdity and/or Jesus can be son of David, again with absolute absurdity, but an idiomatic expression linguistically perfect in Ayaah آيه 19:28 has caused sleepless nights and/or discomfort to the followers of most unintelligible religion i.e. Christianity.



Again, the word in question means: Female and/or male person having the same parents as another or a female and/or male having only one parent in common; Person of same descent, land, creed or faith with other or others; Brother; Friends; Companion; Match; Fellow of a pair; Kinsman; Intimately acquainted. Therefore, like Akh the word Ukht is frequently used in Arabic for cooperation, similarity in religion, nationality and trade. Thus, linguistically this idiomatic expression might be referring to Apostle Harun هارون who was famous for his nobility and piety among Israelites, even more than Musa عليه السلام. Harun هارون might be a contemporary of Maryam مريم and might be well known among the people of that time. It is also possible that Harun هارون might be the name of a noble and pious brother of Maryam مريم, as there exist no detail of the Children of Imran (Maryam’s father).

EDIT:

Ibn Kathir says:

[يأُخْتَ هَـرُونَ]

(O sister of Harun!) This means, "O one resembling Harun (Aaron) in worship.''

[مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيّاً]

(Your father was not a man who used to commit adultery, nor your mother was an unchaste woman.) They meant, "You are from a good, pure family, well-known for its righteousness, worship and abstinence from worldy indulgence. How could you do such a thing'' `Ali bin Abi Talhah and As-Suddi both said, "It was said to her,

[يأُخْتَ هَـرُونَ]

(O sister of Harun!) referring to the brother of Musa, because she was of his descendants. This is similar to the saying, `O brother of Tamim,' to one who is from the Tamimi tribe, and `O brother of Mudar,' to one who is from the Mudari tribe. It has also been said that she was related to a righteous man among them whose name was Harun and she was comparable to him in her abstinence and worship. Concerning Allah's statement,

So there are 3 possibilities - either they said 'Sister of Harun' as she was similar to him in worship - or that it was because she was from the tribe of Harun or that she was a sister to another man called Harun. It could be that all 3 possibilities are true.

You need to understand the Arabic language - you can't just translate things and expect the language to be used exactly as it is in its original form.

EDIT 2:

If you read the verse Allah (swt) is quoting the people: THEY SAID  - 'O Sister of Harun'

Speak to anyone who knows the Arabic language well, it is a well known fact.

O' you are making the Moses thing up! Where does it say Maryam was a sister of Moses?

Answer 7

Wow , you discovered a big mistake done by prophet Muhamed who wrote the Quran and made this unintended mistake . Maybe he was  confused in the names ? what do you think ?

Prophet Muhamed should know that Mary is not the sister of Aron because he wrote  before that Moses and Aron are brothers , do you think he got confused or what ?

You know honey no matter how hard we try to explain to you that it was not a mistake ,you won't believe it , the  worshiping of a man is deeply rooted in your heart so it's too hard for you to  believe that Quran is from Allah , you don't have  to wake up from your delusions , I want you to enjoy it  to the full . Peace.

See you in the day of judgment honey .

The answer to your Q is in this link but please don't read it , since reading it won't make any difference to you so no need to waste your precious time .

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/C...

Answer 8

Because Mohammad wrote the Quran and he was clueless obviously.

Answer 9

I answered this here. i will just copy-paste it.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

______________________________________...

1. IN THE SEMITIC LANGUAGES SISTER ALSO MEANS DESCENDANT

The Qur’an mentions in Surah Maryam, Chapter 19 verses 27-28

"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!’"

[Al-Qur’an 19:27-28]

Christian missionaries say that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not know the difference between Mary the mother of Jesus (pbuh) and Miriam the sister of Aaron (pbuh). The time span between both was more than a thousand years.

In the Arabic construction of the sentence, sister is also considered as a descendant. Thus, when the people said to Mary, Ukhta Haroon i.e. ‘sister of Aaron’ it actually means descendant of Aaron (pbuh).

2. SON ALSO MEANS DESCENDANT

It is mentioned in the Gospel of Mathew, Chapter 1 verse 1

"Jesus Christ, the son of David,....".

[Mathew 1:1]

Gospel of Luke Chapter 3, verse 23

"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, ....."

[Luke 3:23]

DID JESUS (PBUH) HAVE TWO FATHERS?

What do you call a person who has two fathers? The explanation of the phrase that Jesus (pbuh) was the son of David (pbuh), is that Jesus (pbuh) was a descendant of David (pbuh). ‘Son’, here means a descendant.

______________________________________...

edit @ asker i don't know what the h**l now your speaking about. if you have read my answer , you could have got something.

edit @ asker (lol)

Answer 10

maybe God wanted to make Christians close to Jews

and say that they came from the same God

Answer 11

because mariam is the arabic name for mary