Post by Brother Andrew on Apr 30, 2005 18:40:17 GMT -5
O SISTER OF AARON
Mughirah Ibn Shu-bah(r), a companion of the Prophet Muhammad(s) relates that He was receiting the Qur'an before Christians in Najran and whilst reciting the Ayah:
~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}~
The Christians confronted Him and said:
~"You read "O sister of Harun" (i.e. Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus."~
Mughira Ibn Shu-bah(r) did not know the answer so when He came back to the Prophet(s) He asked Muhammad(s) about it, where upon Muhammad(s)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."~
~{Sahih Muslim-Kitaab al adab-vol 3-Hadeeth#[2135]-}~
This Hadeeth of the Prophet opens up 2 avenues of explanation:
1} Many Islamic scholars say that Mary(r) had a brother named after Prophet Aaron(a) which could have been possible as many of us (like the Prophet(s) says) give names to our children after the names of Apostles and pious persons.
2} Abdullah Yusif Ali says in his commentary ~"Mary(r) is reminded of Her high lineage"~ which means that She was a blood descendant of Prophet Aaron(a) and Moses(a)and She was given a title of honour after a name of an Apostle of which lineage She came from.
Even though Mary could possibly had a brother in her lifetime named after Prophet Aaron(a) the second explaination weighs in with more evidence.
However i have found orienlentalists not to be satisfied with the satisfactory answer that the Prophet(s)has given and furthermore they still accuse the Prophet(s)of anachronism.
ANACHRONISM
Anachronism means something that is out of harmony with the period in which it was placed in which the oreinlentalists accuse Muhammad(s) of confusing 2 different personality's (Miriam(r) and Maryam(r)) and the time periods they lived in.
The Bible tells us that the a man by the name of Amram bore 3 chidren, Moses(a), Aaron(a) and Miriam(r):
~"And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister."~
{Numbers 26:59}
And Miriam(r) was also addressed in the Bible as the sister of Aaron:
~"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."~
{Exodus 15:20}
*} In the Bible we have the sister of Aaron(a) called Miriam(r) who has a father called Amram(r)
*} In the Qur'an we have Maryam(r) the mother of Jesus(a) being addressed by Her people "o sister of Aaron" who also happens to have a father called Imran.
for the person without knowledge this can be quite confusing, however as i have stated before the Prophet(s) was asked about this alleged anachronism and He(s) 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."~
~{sahih muslim}~
*Meaning Maryam(r) was named after Miriam(r) which i do not think any learned Christian would disagree due to the fact that the actual name Mary derives from Miriam which in the Hebrew language means "strong"
*Likewise the father of Mary(r) "Imran" was named after a pious person who had gone before Him called 'Amram' so really i do not see any problem here it is exactly how the Prophet(s) has put it:
~"They was given names after pious persons who had gone before them"~
{Sahih Muslim}
And even today we have many people around the world called Imran, Aaron ,Mary and so forth so i wonder how many familys past , present and future has a father called Imran with a son called Aaron and a daughter called Maryam? it is a very high possibility.
So the charge of Anachronism has been clearly refuted by the Prophet(s) over 1400 years ago.
Mary(r) the Levite
There is another problem if an orienlentalist wishes to pursue further with the charge of anachronism against the Prophet(s) and that problem is that the Bible does not give us the name of Mary's(r) father due to the fact that the Jewish law does not allow genealogys for females to be recorded in the scriptures, infact the closest record of Mary's(r) ancestry was spoken by the Arch Angel Gabriel(a) when He visited Mary(r) to give the glad tidings of the birth of a righteous son and the news of John the Baptist:
~"And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren".~
{Bible luke 1:36}
And Marys(r) cousin Elizabeth(r) was married to Prophet Zechariahs(a) who were both Levite's descending from the noble ancestry of Prophet Moses(a) and His brother Aaron(a), Elizabeth was also addressed as the daughters of Aaron:
~"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, and her name was Elisabeth."~
{Bible Luke.1.5}
Furthermore the Prophet Muhammad(s) confirmed that Mary and Jesus were from the Levite ancestry in another Hadeeth, whilst explaining to His Companions about what happened on His miraculous night journey through the seven heavens He said:
~"..... When I entered (the heavens) I saw Jesus the son of Mary and John the son of Zachrais who are (2nd) cousins from the maternal side (meaning through their Mothers) and they prayed for My well being....."~
{Sahih Muslim , Vol 1, Kitab al iman, chapter 74, Hadeeth #[162]}
So if John the Baptist(a) was a Levite and Jesus(a) was His cousin related from the maternal side that means Mary(r) must have been a Levite and not a descendant of Judah like many Christians think, due to the fact intermarrying was forbidden between the 12 tribes of Israel ,Judites were not allowed to marry Levites.
Why sister of Aaron?
So why is Mary addressed in the Quran as the sister of Aaron? And why is She not addressed as the sister of Moses, Solomon, Judah etc, etc?
*} After Mary(r) had given birth to Jesus(a) She went back to Her people carrying the baby in Her arms and with Mary(r) being unmarried Her people started accusing Mary(r) of doing a shameful act and dishonouring Her Levitical ancestry, so they said "O sister of Aaron Your Father was not a man of evil nor was your Mother unchaste!" but She pointed to the baby and by miracle baby Jesus defended His mother against the charge of Her people {Surah Maryam 19 ayah's 27-33} which could not be said if the Jews would have called Her "O sister of Judah"
~{Bible-(a)Genesis 38:13-30,(b) Deuteronomy 23:2,(c) Matthew 1:3}~
Also in the Bible Elizabeth(r) is given the title "daughters of Aaron" and it is common sense that She is not the actual daughter of Aaron but this title is a title of respect and honour because of Her noble ancestry, now why is not Elizabeth(r) called the daughters of Moses(a) and so forth?
Another problem the orienlentist has difficulty understanding is why is Mary(r) called the sister of Aaron(a) and not the Daughter of Aaron(a) and they claim that "In those days people were only named as sons or daughters (never brothers or sisters, incidentally) of people from whom they directly descended" but according to the Bible God(s) says to Moses(a):
~"I shall raise them up a Prophet from amongst their brethren (meaning brothers)"~
{Deuteronomy 18:18}
Now according to Christian theologians this prophecy is referring to Jesus(a), "Their" refers to the Judaic tribe and "brethren" refers to the generations to come, so if this prophecy is in concordance with Jesus(a) then Jesus(a) is the "Brethren of Judah" in Biblical terms
So why does it say that this prophet is to come from amongst their Brethren/brothers and why not from amongst their sons? Should not it say, "I will raise them a prophet from amongst their sons"?
Mughirah Ibn Shu-bah(r), a companion of the Prophet Muhammad(s) relates that He was receiting the Qur'an before Christians in Najran and whilst reciting the Ayah:
~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}~
The Christians confronted Him and said:
~"You read "O sister of Harun" (i.e. Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus."~
Mughira Ibn Shu-bah(r) did not know the answer so when He came back to the Prophet(s) He asked Muhammad(s) about it, where upon Muhammad(s)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."~
~{Sahih Muslim-Kitaab al adab-vol 3-Hadeeth#[2135]-}~
This Hadeeth of the Prophet opens up 2 avenues of explanation:
1} Many Islamic scholars say that Mary(r) had a brother named after Prophet Aaron(a) which could have been possible as many of us (like the Prophet(s) says) give names to our children after the names of Apostles and pious persons.
2} Abdullah Yusif Ali says in his commentary ~"Mary(r) is reminded of Her high lineage"~ which means that She was a blood descendant of Prophet Aaron(a) and Moses(a)and She was given a title of honour after a name of an Apostle of which lineage She came from.
Even though Mary could possibly had a brother in her lifetime named after Prophet Aaron(a) the second explaination weighs in with more evidence.
However i have found orienlentalists not to be satisfied with the satisfactory answer that the Prophet(s)has given and furthermore they still accuse the Prophet(s)of anachronism.
ANACHRONISM
Anachronism means something that is out of harmony with the period in which it was placed in which the oreinlentalists accuse Muhammad(s) of confusing 2 different personality's (Miriam(r) and Maryam(r)) and the time periods they lived in.
The Bible tells us that the a man by the name of Amram bore 3 chidren, Moses(a), Aaron(a) and Miriam(r):
~"And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister."~
{Numbers 26:59}
And Miriam(r) was also addressed in the Bible as the sister of Aaron:
~"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."~
{Exodus 15:20}
*} In the Bible we have the sister of Aaron(a) called Miriam(r) who has a father called Amram(r)
*} In the Qur'an we have Maryam(r) the mother of Jesus(a) being addressed by Her people "o sister of Aaron" who also happens to have a father called Imran.
for the person without knowledge this can be quite confusing, however as i have stated before the Prophet(s) was asked about this alleged anachronism and He(s) 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."~
~{sahih muslim}~
*Meaning Maryam(r) was named after Miriam(r) which i do not think any learned Christian would disagree due to the fact that the actual name Mary derives from Miriam which in the Hebrew language means "strong"
*Likewise the father of Mary(r) "Imran" was named after a pious person who had gone before Him called 'Amram' so really i do not see any problem here it is exactly how the Prophet(s) has put it:
~"They was given names after pious persons who had gone before them"~
{Sahih Muslim}
And even today we have many people around the world called Imran, Aaron ,Mary and so forth so i wonder how many familys past , present and future has a father called Imran with a son called Aaron and a daughter called Maryam? it is a very high possibility.
So the charge of Anachronism has been clearly refuted by the Prophet(s) over 1400 years ago.
Mary(r) the Levite
There is another problem if an orienlentalist wishes to pursue further with the charge of anachronism against the Prophet(s) and that problem is that the Bible does not give us the name of Mary's(r) father due to the fact that the Jewish law does not allow genealogys for females to be recorded in the scriptures, infact the closest record of Mary's(r) ancestry was spoken by the Arch Angel Gabriel(a) when He visited Mary(r) to give the glad tidings of the birth of a righteous son and the news of John the Baptist:
~"And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren".~
{Bible luke 1:36}
And Marys(r) cousin Elizabeth(r) was married to Prophet Zechariahs(a) who were both Levite's descending from the noble ancestry of Prophet Moses(a) and His brother Aaron(a), Elizabeth was also addressed as the daughters of Aaron:
~"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, and her name was Elisabeth."~
{Bible Luke.1.5}
Furthermore the Prophet Muhammad(s) confirmed that Mary and Jesus were from the Levite ancestry in another Hadeeth, whilst explaining to His Companions about what happened on His miraculous night journey through the seven heavens He said:
~"..... When I entered (the heavens) I saw Jesus the son of Mary and John the son of Zachrais who are (2nd) cousins from the maternal side (meaning through their Mothers) and they prayed for My well being....."~
{Sahih Muslim , Vol 1, Kitab al iman, chapter 74, Hadeeth #[162]}
So if John the Baptist(a) was a Levite and Jesus(a) was His cousin related from the maternal side that means Mary(r) must have been a Levite and not a descendant of Judah like many Christians think, due to the fact intermarrying was forbidden between the 12 tribes of Israel ,Judites were not allowed to marry Levites.
Why sister of Aaron?
So why is Mary addressed in the Quran as the sister of Aaron? And why is She not addressed as the sister of Moses, Solomon, Judah etc, etc?
*} After Mary(r) had given birth to Jesus(a) She went back to Her people carrying the baby in Her arms and with Mary(r) being unmarried Her people started accusing Mary(r) of doing a shameful act and dishonouring Her Levitical ancestry, so they said "O sister of Aaron Your Father was not a man of evil nor was your Mother unchaste!" but She pointed to the baby and by miracle baby Jesus defended His mother against the charge of Her people {Surah Maryam 19 ayah's 27-33} which could not be said if the Jews would have called Her "O sister of Judah"
~{Bible-(a)Genesis 38:13-30,(b) Deuteronomy 23:2,(c) Matthew 1:3}~
Also in the Bible Elizabeth(r) is given the title "daughters of Aaron" and it is common sense that She is not the actual daughter of Aaron but this title is a title of respect and honour because of Her noble ancestry, now why is not Elizabeth(r) called the daughters of Moses(a) and so forth?
Another problem the orienlentist has difficulty understanding is why is Mary(r) called the sister of Aaron(a) and not the Daughter of Aaron(a) and they claim that "In those days people were only named as sons or daughters (never brothers or sisters, incidentally) of people from whom they directly descended" but according to the Bible God(s) says to Moses(a):
~"I shall raise them up a Prophet from amongst their brethren (meaning brothers)"~
{Deuteronomy 18:18}
Now according to Christian theologians this prophecy is referring to Jesus(a), "Their" refers to the Judaic tribe and "brethren" refers to the generations to come, so if this prophecy is in concordance with Jesus(a) then Jesus(a) is the "Brethren of Judah" in Biblical terms
So why does it say that this prophet is to come from amongst their Brethren/brothers and why not from amongst their sons? Should not it say, "I will raise them a prophet from amongst their sons"?