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Maryam in Islam, peace be upon her: her account in the Quran

The Quran tells the account of Maryam, peace be upon her, in Al-Imran and in Surah Maryam, and names her again in At-Tahrim. The passages below follow in order, quoted without added detail.

By Haroon AliSources checked 27 October 2026

We explain and attribute; we do not issue fatwas.

The short answer

Maryam in Islam is the mother of Prophet Isa, peace be upon him. The Quran describes her upbringing and her choosing by Allah in Al-Imran 3:35 to 47, then the announcement, the birth and her return to her people in Maryam 19:16 to 36.

مَرْيَمَ

Maryam, as written in Maryam 19:16

Who was Maryam in Islam?

Al-Imran, the third surah, or chapter of the Quran, tells of the wife of Imran making a vow: "I have vowed to You that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering)" (3:35). In 3:37 her Lord "her Lord accepted her with full acceptance", and Zakariyya, peace be upon him (Zachariah in the translation), is given charge of her: "made Zachariah her guardian".

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُ عِمْرَٰنَ رَبِّ إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِى بَطْنِى مُحَرَّرًا فَتَقَبَّلْ مِنِّىٓ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ۝ فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَضَعْتُهَآ أُنثَىٰ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ ٱلذَّكَرُ كَٱلْأُنثَىٰ ۖ وَإِنِّى سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وَإِنِّىٓ أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ ۝ فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا ٱلْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقًا ۖ قَالَ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَـٰذَا ۖ قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

Al-Imran 3:35 to 37(Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed to You that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Indeed, You, only You, art the Hearer, the Knower! And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Indeed, I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and indeed, I have named her Mary, and indeed, I crave Your protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast. And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! From where comes to you this (food)? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah gives without stint to whom He will.

In 3:42 the angels say "Indeed, Allah has chosen you and made you pure", and "has preferred you above (all) the women of creation". In 3:43 they tell her to "Be obedient to your Lord, prostrate yourself and bow with those who bow".

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَٱصْطَفَىٰكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَآءِ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ۝ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ ٱقْنُتِى لِرَبِّكِ وَٱسْجُدِى وَٱرْكَعِى مَعَ ٱلرَّٰكِعِينَ

Al-Imran 3:42 to 43And when the angels said: O Mary! Indeed, Allah has chosen you and made you pure, and has preferred you above (all) the women of creation. O Mary! Be obedient to your Lord, prostrate yourself and bow with those who bow (in worship).

These references locate the account. They do not supply a date, a precise age or a full biography of every period of her life.

How does the Quran recount the announcement of Isa?

In 3:45 the angels bring her glad tidings of a word from Allah, and the verse says "whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary" (Isa and Maryam in the Arabic). In 3:47 she asks, "How can I have a child when no mortal has touched me", and the reply is "Allah creates what He will". Read together, 3:45 to 47 give the announcement and her question about it.

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ ٱسْمُهُ ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ وَمِنَ ٱلْمُقَرَّبِينَ ۝ وَيُكَلِّمُ ٱلنَّاسَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلًا وَمِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ ۝ قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌ ۖ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ ٱللَّهُ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ

Al-Imran 3:45 to 47(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Indeed, Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (to Allah). He will speak to mankind in his cradle and in his manhood, and he is of the righteous. She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal has touched me? He said: So (it will be). Allah creates what He will. If He decrees a thing, He says to it only: Be! and it is.

The account in Surah Maryam, the nineteenth surah, begins at 19:16 with her withdrawal from her people "to a place looking East". In 19:17 Allah sends her "Our Spirit", and the speaker in 19:19 says "I am only a messenger of your Lord". In 19:21 her Lord says "It is easy for Me", and says "We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us".

وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مَرْيَمَ إِذِ ٱنتَبَذَتْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا مَكَانًا شَرْقِيًّا ۝ فَٱتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا فَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا ۝ قَالَتْ إِنِّىٓ أَعُوذُ بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِنكَ إِن كُنتَ تَقِيًّا ۝ قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ رَسُولُ رَبِّكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَـٰمًا زَكِيًّا ۝ قَالَتْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَـٰمٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّا ۝ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌ ۖ وَلِنَجْعَلَهُۥٓ ءَايَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَرَحْمَةً مِّنَّا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرًا مَّقْضِيًّا

Maryam 19:16 to 21And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a place looking East, And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent to her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Indeed, I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from you, if you are Allah-fearing. He said: I am only a messenger of your Lord, that I may bestow on you a faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal has touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: So (it will be). Your Lord says: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.

Neither passage gives the time between the announcement and the birth, and this section does not fill that gap.

In Muslim belief, Isa, peace be upon him, is a prophet. The verses quoted here report Allah's words about him. They do not describe how the conception came about.

What happens at the birth and her return to her people?

In 19:22 she "withdrew with him to a far place". In 19:23 "the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of the palm-tree". One cries to her from below, "Do not grieve! Your Lord has placed a rivulet beneath you" (19:24), and she is told "So eat and drink and be consoled" (19:26).

۞ فَحَمَلَتْهُ فَٱنتَبَذَتْ بِهِۦ مَكَانًا قَصِيًّا ۝ فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلْمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ قَالَتْ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَـٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًا مَّنسِيًّا ۝ فَنَادَىٰهَا مِن تَحْتِهَآ أَلَّا تَحْزَنِى قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحْتَكِ سَرِيًّا ۝ وَهُزِّىٓ إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ تُسَـٰقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًا جَنِيًّا ۝ فَكُلِى وَٱشْرَبِى وَقَرِّى عَيْنًا ۖ فَإِمَّا تَرَيِنَّ مِنَ ٱلْبَشَرِ أَحَدًا فَقُولِىٓ إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ صَوْمًا فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ ٱلْيَوْمَ إِنسِيًّا

Maryam 19:22 to 26And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place. And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of the palm-tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died before this and had become a thing of nothing, forgotten! Then (one) cried to her from below her, saying: Do not grieve! Your Lord has placed a rivulet beneath you, And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward you, you will cause ripe dates to fall upon you. So eat and drink and be consoled. And if you meet any mortal, say: Indeed, I have vowed a fast to the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.

In 19:27 "she brought him to her own folk, carrying him", and her people say "You have come with an amazing thing". In 19:29 she points to him, and they ask how they can speak to "one who is in the cradle, a young boy". Then Isa, peace be upon him, speaks from the cradle: "Indeed, I am the slave of Allah", and "has appointed me a Prophet" (19:30).

فَأَتَتْ بِهِۦ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُهُۥ ۖ قَالُوا۟ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْـًٔا فَرِيًّا ۝ يَـٰٓأُخْتَ هَـٰرُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ ٱمْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا ۝ فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ ۖ قَالُوا۟ كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَن كَانَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا ۝ قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّا ۝ وَجَعَلَنِى مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَـٰنِى بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا ۝ وَبَرًّۢا بِوَٰلِدَتِى وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِى جَبَّارًا شَقِيًّا ۝ وَٱلسَّلَـٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّا

Maryam 19:27 to 33Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! You have come with an amazing thing. O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a wicked man nor was your mother a harlot. Then she pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a young boy? He spoke: Indeed, I am the slave of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a Prophet, And has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive, And (has made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and has not made me arrogant, unblessed. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!

Maryam 19:34 to 36 closes the passage. It identifies him as Isa, peace be upon him: "Such was Jesus, son of Mary" (19:34). The translation says Jesus and Mary. Verse 19:36 contains the words "Allah is my Lord and your Lord".

ذَٰلِكَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۚ قَوْلَ ٱلْحَقِّ ٱلَّذِى فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ ۝ مَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ أَن يَتَّخِذَ مِن وَلَدٍ ۖ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥٓ ۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ ۝ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُوهُ ۚ هَـٰذَا صِرَٰطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ

Maryam 19:34 to 36Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It does not befit (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take to Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He says to it only: Be! and it is. And indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path.

The verses are quoted as they stand, not turned into an imagined personal monologue.

Why is Maryam significant in the Quran?

Al-Imran 3:42 singles her out in the angels' address. In 66:12 she "put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures" and "was of the obedient". The account also links to the Quran's treatment of Isa, peace be upon him. For his part of the story, see Prophet Isa, peace be upon him: what Muslims believe about Jesus in Islam.

وَمَرْيَمَ ٱبْنَتَ عِمْرَٰنَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَـٰتِ رَبِّهَا وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَكَانَتْ مِنَ ٱلْقَـٰنِتِينَ

At-Tahrim 66:12And Mary, daughter of 'Imran, whose body was chaste, therefore We breathed therein something of Our Spirit. And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the obedient.

Readers who want to follow the story can read 3:35 to 47, then 19:16 to 36, then 66:12.

I used to know Maryam, may Allah be pleased with her, mainly from one surah. Reading the Al-Imran passages beside Surah Maryam showed me how much the Quran says about her, and that it names her directly, which most of the retellings I had heard never made clear. It changed how I read both.

Haroon Alistudent of knowledge

Try it: three quick questions

Pick an answer; each one explains itself.

  1. 1Where does the Quran describe Maryam's upbringing?

    Answer: Al-Imran 3:35 to 37. Al-Imran 3:35 to 37 tells of the vow, the birth and her guardianship: "made Zachariah her guardian" (3:37).

  2. 2Which passage recounts the birth and her return to her people?

    Answer: Maryam 19:22 to 33. Maryam 19:22 says she "withdrew with him to a far place", and 19:27 has her bring him to her own folk.

  3. 3Does the account give her precise age at the birth?

    Answer: No, these passages do not. No passage quoted here gives her age. Maryam 19:20 records her question, "How can I have a son when no mortal has touched me", and gives no age.

Sources

Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.

  1. Q

    Quran Arabic and English for Al-Imran 3:35 to 37, 3:42 to 43 and 3:45 to 47; Maryam 19:16 to 36; and At-Tahrim 66:12, each quoted or shown on this page. This page cites no hadith and no scholarly work.

    Tanzil Project Uthmani text, CC BY 3.0. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), modernised and checked against modern translations.

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