What did Ibn Kathir say about Maryam (Mary)?
The Qurʾan names Maryam more times than the Christian Gospels do. Ibn Kathir traces her life from her miraculous birth to Zakariyyā's guardianship, to her conception of ʿĪsā without a father.
10 passages from 4 books in the library
Ibn Kathir honors Maryam as among the greatest women ever to live. He records the Prophet ﷺ naming her among the four women who suffice as the best of the world's women, and lists "the women of Paradise" as Khadīja, Fāṭima, Maryam, and Āsiya. He recalls the supplication of Maryam's mother seeking protection from Shayṭān "for Maryam and her offspring," and affirms her son's exalted rank in Allah's own words — "Christ, the son of Mary" — declaring ʿĪsā "a statement of the truth" who, as the Prophet ﷺ said, "has no father."
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 4 books by Ibn Kathir and Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
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"another narration where the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Al-Hassan and Al-Husayn are the leaders of the youth of the people of Paradise except for the two cousins Yahya and Isa, peace be upon them. Abu Sulayman narrated that Isa ibn Maryam and Yahya ibn Zakariya were walking together and Yahya accidentally bumped into a woman. Isa said to him, O cousin, today you have committed a sin that I do not think will ever be forgiven for you. Yahya asked, What is it, O cousin? Isa replied, A woman you bumped into. Yahya said, By Allah, I did not feel her. Isa responded, Glory be to Allah, your body is with me"
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"to you crying and screaming, while the people around you laughed in joy. So strive for yourself to be when they weep on the day of your death, laughing and joyful. When Yahya and Isa met, Isa asked Yahya to seek forgiveness for him, acknowledging Yahya's virtue. Yahya, in turn, asked Isa to seek forgiveness for him, recognizing Isa's virtue. Isa then said, You are better than me. I greeted you and Allah greeted you. Thus, Allah acknowledged their virtues. In another verse, Yahya is described as a leader and chaste and a prophet from among the righteous. The term chaste is understood to mean one who does not approach women."
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"of Allah, peace be upon him, said, There is no newborn except that the devil has squeezed him once or twice, except for Isa ibn Maryam and Maryam. Then the messenger of Allah recited, And indeed, I seek refuge with you and your descendants from the accursed devil. Imam Ahmad also narrated from Abu Hurairah that the prophet, peace be upon him, said, Every child of Adam is stabbed by the devil in his side when he is born, except for Isa ibn Maryam."
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"myself? Mary said, From this man who is by the grave. The mother of Yahya said, I do not see anyone. Mary hoped it would be Jibreel, as she had not seen him for a long time. The mother of Yahya approached the grave, and Jibreel spoke to her, revealing himself. He said, O Mary, where do you wish to go? She replied, I want to visit the grave of the Messiah to greet him and renew my acquaintance with him. Jibreel informed her, O Mary, this is not the Messiah. Allah has raised the Messiah and purified him from those who disbelieved. This is the boy who was made to resemble him and was crucified in his place. The sign of that is that his family has lost him and"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"When Yahya and Isa met, Isa asked Yahya to seek forgiveness for him, acknowledging Yahya's virtue. Yahya, in turn, asked Isa to seek forgiveness for him, recognizing Isa's virtue. Isa then said, You are better than me, I greeted you and Allah greeted you. Thus Allah acknowledged their virtues. In another verse, Yahya is described as a leader and chaste and a prophet from among the righteous."
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"ever be forgiven for you. Yahya asked, what is it O cousin? Isa replied, a woman you bumped into. Yahya said, by Allah I did not feel her. Isa responded, glory be to Allah, your body is with me so where is your soul? Yahya replied, it is hanging by the throne and if my heart were to find peace with Jibreel I would think that I did not know Allah for the blink of an eye. This account contains strangeness and is from the Israeliyat. It is also reported that Isa and Yahya were cousins with Isa wearing wool and Yahya wearing camel hair and neither of them possessing a dinar or dirham. There was no servant, maid or refuge for"
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"Your mother gave birth to you crying and screaming, while the people around you laughed in joy. So strive for yourself to be when they weep on the day of your death, laughing and joyful. When Yahya and Isa met, Isa asked Yahya to seek forgiveness for him, acknowledging Yahya's virtue. Yahya, in turn, asked Isa to seek forgiveness for him, recognizing Isa's virtue."
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"Abu Sulayman narrated that Isa Ibn Maryam and Yahya Ibn Zakariya were walking together and Yahya accidentally bumped into a woman. Isa said to him, O cousin, today you have committed a sin that I do not think will ever be forgiven for you. Yahya asked, what is it O cousin? Isa replied, a woman you bumped into. Yahya said, by Allah I did not feel her."
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"The Prophets were shown to me. Musa, or Moses, had the stature of a man as if he were from the people of Shanwa. I saw Isa, or Jesus, the son of Mary, and among those I have seen, the closest resemblance to him was Urwa ibn Masud. I saw Ibrahim, or Abraham, and the closest likeness to him was Diha. Ahmad also narrated from Ibn Abbas who said, The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, I saw Isa ibn Maryam, Musa, and Ibrahim."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"whoever takes my name should not take my Kunya, and whoever takes my Kunya should not take my name. The Hadith, Isa, Jesus has no father, narrated by Abu Amr al-Tawqani in the book Living with Families from Ibn Umar with a weak chain of transmission. For Abu Dawud, Umar punished a son of his who took the Kunya Abu Isa and expressed disapproval of Al-Mughirah Ibn Shuba for taking the Kunya Abu Isa, upon which the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, he has given me my Kunya and its chain is authentic. The Hadith, you will be called on the day of resurrection by your names and the names of your fathers, so beautify your names, narrated by Abu Dawud from"
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