The Qur'an as the Criterion · The Prophets Restored
How Jesus speaks to his mother
Handle with care. Handle with care: concede honestly that the Greek of John 2:4 is disputed, or you will look as though you are straining.
In short
- 1.The Bible: Woman, what does this have to do with me? (John 2:4).
- 2.The Qur'an: and dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant (Q 19:32).
- 3.His first recorded words in the Qur'an are a defence of Maryam.
The claim being examined
In John 2 Jesus answers his mother with "Woman, what does this have to do with me?" and in the Synoptics he asks who his mother and brothers are.
The Islamic position
The Qur'an has Isa, peace be upon him, speak from the cradle to defend her honour and declare himself dutiful to her.
Analysis
The Greek of John 2:4 — ti emoi kai soi, gunai — is genuinely debated, and translations soften it in different ways: "Woman, what does this have to do with me?", "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?" Some commentators argue that gunai was not disrespectful in that setting, and that is worth conceding. Alongside it stand Mark 3:31-35 and Matthew 12:46-50, where he is told his mother and brothers are outside and answers by asking who his mother and brothers are, and Luke 11:27-28, where a woman blesses the womb that bore him and he redirects the blessing. The Qur'an's treatment is unambiguous in the other direction. In Q 19:27-33, Maryam returns to her people carrying the infant and is accused; the child speaks: "Indeed I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet... and dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant." His first words in the Qur'an are a public vindication of his mother's honour, and the whole nineteenth surah bears her name. Q 5:75 pairs them: "His mother was a woman of truth. They both used to eat food." Since Christians honour Mary highly, this card usually lands warmly rather than combatively.
Side by side
| The Bible | John 2:4; Mark 3:33 | Woman, what does this have to do with me? — and, told his mother is outside, Who are my mother and my brothers? |
|---|---|---|
| The Qur'an | 19:30-33; 5:75 | The infant speaks to defend Maryam's honour and says he is dutiful to his mother; she is called a woman of truth, and a whole surah bears her name. |
From the Qur'an
وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَتِي وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِي جَبَّارًا شَقِيًّا
And dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant.
مَّا الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ وَأُمُّهُ صِدِّيقَةٌ
The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; messengers passed away before him, and his mother was a woman of truth.
From the Bible
Greek
And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.
Read it in their BibleSources
Qur'an 19:16-33; 5:75 · John 2:1-4; Mark 3:31-35 · Qur'an 19:32
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