Based on what we discussed, read and learned in this course, in your own words, please first describe the main features, structure, and content of the Qur’an as a text and the way it has been received

The Story of Virgin Mary • Monday March, 15 • Mariam is the mother of Jesus (PBU H ) who was miraculously got pregnant without a husband . • Mariam, the mother of Isa is venerated in Islam . Her parents are mentioned as Imran and Hannah and her sibling is Harun . She is one of the most important and righteous women in Islam . She is mentioned in the Quran more than in the New Testament (Bible ). Her name is mentioned thirty -four times in the Qur ’an . • Surah Mariam - 19 :1 |Quran .com . • She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran . Many Muslim women look up to her as an example . According to the Quran, Allah (God) chose Mary above all women of all nations .The Quran states : • Behold! the angels said : "O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee - chosen thee above the women of all nations . Quran , sura 3 (Al Imran ), ayah 42 . • The word "Mariam" means a devout woman, and also a servant woman . • The Qur ’an says that Mariam grew up in the temple of prayer and had a special place of her own in the temple . The Qur ’an states that there was a cast of the dice to decide who would become the guardian of Mariam . The person chosen through this process was the Prophet Zechariah . Often, when Zechariah would visit the chamber of Mary, he would find her with quantities of food . He always asked her where she had obtained the food, and Mary would always answer : "Allah provides to whom he will ." As a prophet, Zechariah would not have questioned this response because he would have known that Allah is the provider of all things in life and, indeed, of life itself . • The birth of Isa and the Annunciation of Mariam are very important to Islam . They are considered to be some of the most important miracles of Allah . The first mention of the Annunciation following the Birth of Isa is in sura 19 (Mariam ) ayah 20 . The Qur ’an tells us that the Angel Gabriel (Arabic : al -Ruh al -Quds, Jibra ’il ) came to the Mariam and told her that she would soon be pregnant with a holy child . The Virgin Mary asked how it would be possible for her to become pregnant when no man had touched her . The Angel Gabriel replied that nothing is impossible for Allah, and that the Birth of Jesus would be a sign for all mankind . The birth is mentioned later at surah 66 (At -Tahrim ) ayah 12 , where the Qur ’an says that the Virgin Mary remained pure while Allah created Isa inside her womb . The Qur ’an ’s narrative of the birth of Isa is different from that of Jesus as found in the New Testament . The Qur ’an says that Mary was suffering childbirth pains, when she saw a nearby palm tree and held on to it . While she was holding on to the tree, she heard a voice that seemed to come from the earth beneath the tree . The voice said, “Grieve not! Thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thy feet . Shake the trunk of the palm -tree towards thyself and It will drop its fresh ripe dates upon thee ." Mary then promised not to speak with anyone that day . Later, after Isa ’s birth, Mary brought him to the temple . All of the men in the temple mocked her, except Zechariah, who believed in the virgin birth . The Israelites demanded to know how she could possibly have had a baby without a man, whereupon the Virgin Mary responded by pointing to Jesus who then spoke his first prophecy . Surah Maryam - 19 :1 | Quran .com (25 ) What are Differences between Virgin Mary in New Testament and the Qur ’an? • Class Discussion