"And God sets forth as an example for those who believe the wife of Pharaoh when she said, 'My Lord, build for me a house near unto Thee in the Garden, deliver me from Pharaoh and his deeds, and deliver me from the wrongdoing people,' and Mary, the daughter of Imran, who preserved her own chastity."
Quran 66:11-12
These passages are drawn al-Tahrim, the 66th surah, sometimes rendered as "Forbidden." As you know the only woman in the entire Quran mentioned by name is Mary, who has a couple different surahs, Maryam (#19) and al-Imran (#3), that tell her story. There are certainly other women in the Quran, but they're referred to as the "Queen of" or "the daughter or" or "the wife of."
In a famous hadith the Prophet said, "The best among the women of the Garden are Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatimah bint Muhammad, Maryam bint Imran, and Asiyah bint Muzahim, the wife of Pharaoh." (Nasr, p. 1391) The inclusion of the first three women would probably not surprise you. Khadijah was the Prophet's first wife, and while she was alive his only wife, and his daughter Fatimah; both names are still very popular in the Muslim world today. Maryam is, of course, the Virgin Mary, in this case identified as "bint Imran" or the daughter of Imran. Her father is not named in the Gospels, but in extra-Biblical literature he's referred to as Joachim. In the Muslim tradition he's known as Imran, which is why the 3rd surah is called al-Iman, or sometimes "The House of Imran." Considering how central Jesus is to Islam, as we've discussed and doubtless will again, it's not particularly surprising that Mary is mentioned here. It's probably a lot more surprising that the Pharaoh's wife, not identified by name in the Quran, but referred to extra-Quranic literature as Asiyah, is included. In the Islamic tradition she's held in very high esteem and was considered a very devout woman who "was tortured by Pharaoh for believing in Moses."Obviously, this is very different from the Jewish tradition where it was Pharaoh's daughter who saved Moses's life, and there's no real connection to the actual wife of the Egyptian ruler, and certainly nothing about her devotion to the monotheistic faith.
Quran 66:11-12
These passages are drawn al-Tahrim, the 66th surah, sometimes rendered as "Forbidden." As you know the only woman in the entire Quran mentioned by name is Mary, who has a couple different surahs, Maryam (#19) and al-Imran (#3), that tell her story. There are certainly other women in the Quran, but they're referred to as the "Queen of" or "the daughter or" or "the wife of."
In a famous hadith the Prophet said, "The best among the women of the Garden are Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatimah bint Muhammad, Maryam bint Imran, and Asiyah bint Muzahim, the wife of Pharaoh." (Nasr, p. 1391) The inclusion of the first three women would probably not surprise you. Khadijah was the Prophet's first wife, and while she was alive his only wife, and his daughter Fatimah; both names are still very popular in the Muslim world today. Maryam is, of course, the Virgin Mary, in this case identified as "bint Imran" or the daughter of Imran. Her father is not named in the Gospels, but in extra-Biblical literature he's referred to as Joachim. In the Muslim tradition he's known as Imran, which is why the 3rd surah is called al-Iman, or sometimes "The House of Imran." Considering how central Jesus is to Islam, as we've discussed and doubtless will again, it's not particularly surprising that Mary is mentioned here. It's probably a lot more surprising that the Pharaoh's wife, not identified by name in the Quran, but referred to extra-Quranic literature as Asiyah, is included. In the Islamic tradition she's held in very high esteem and was considered a very devout woman who "was tortured by Pharaoh for believing in Moses."Obviously, this is very different from the Jewish tradition where it was Pharaoh's daughter who saved Moses's life, and there's no real connection to the actual wife of the Egyptian ruler, and certainly nothing about her devotion to the monotheistic faith.
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