My Muslim friend has a statue of Mary..

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I would recommend checking out Jaroslav Pelikan’s book Mary Through the Centuries, particularly the chapter on Mary as “Heroine of the Qur’an,” as it’s quite interesting. The whole work is about Mary’s place in the history of culture, and that chapter particularly on her role in Islam–where she is held in quite high esteem. The only chapter of the Qur’an named for a woman, per Pelikan, is the one entitled “Maryam.”

-ACEGC
 
Muslims have also be known to visit Fatima thinking it was a shrine to the prophet’s daughter, Fatima. And they’ve visited Mary’s house in Turkey too asking her to intercede when it might be difficul for a Muslim women to conceive.
 
The Qu’ran mentions the Holy Virgin more times than the Bible does. They hold her to high esteem. I don’t remember where, but not too long ago in some Catholic hospital they took down the crucifixes and replaced them with pictures of Mary to appease both Catholic and Muslim patients.
I still think it’s odd that protestants who admit that Jesus is God incarnate reject any veneration of his mother whilst Muslims who think Jesus was a mortal honor his mother greatly 🤷
 
A man I work with - a Muslim - said his mother frequently prays to Mary for her intervention.🤷
 
Hello (name removed by moderator),
Would you mind sharing a bit more information about this? Thank you so much.
P.S. I’m enjoying the latest signature and pictures. 👍
 
How many things are true for all branches of Islam? Sufis, in particular, say and do quite a few things which a great many Muslims describe as haram.
 
Mystophilus said:
How many things are true for all branches of Islam? Sufis, in particular, say and do quite a few things which a great many Muslims describe as haram.
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Throw this interesting tidbit onto the bonfire…

Apparently, if i am to believe my own Muslim friends, there is no explicit denial for images of any Prophets in the Koran. There are some hadiths however which speak against it - but in terms of practice it ultimately comes down to whether or not you think the hadith was interpreted correctly or if you consider it to be authentic.

And that’s how you end up with things like:

webcitation.org/63BsneOUJ (scroll all the way to the bottom)
 
Is there any Islamic country that is governed by Sharia law that would allow a Muslim to have a statue of the Blessed Virgin in their possession that you know of?
 
Statues in Islam are prohibited per this authentic hadith:
**
Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Number 2115:**
Abu’l-Hayyaj al-Asadi told that 'Ali (b. Abu Talib) said to him: Should I not send you on the same mission as Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) sent me? Do not leave an image without obliterating it, or a high grave without levelling It. This hadith has been reported by Habib with the same chain of transmitters and he said: (Do not leave) a picture without obliterating it.

صحيح مسلم » كتاب الجنائز » باب الأمر بتسوية القبر
قَالَ لِي عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ أَلَا أَبْعَثُكَ عَلَى مَا بَعَثَنِي عَلَيْهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ لَا تَدَعَ تِمْثَالًا إِلَّا طَمَسْتَهُ وَلَا قَبْرًا مُشْرِفًا إِلَّا سَوَّيْتَهُ
​
(E) (A)
 
jeannetherese said:
Hello (name removed by moderator),
Would you mind sharing a bit more information about this? Thank you so much.
P.S. I’m enjoying the latest signature and pictures.thumbsup:
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In 2007, I visited the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. At one time, it was the largest Christian church in the world. When it was converted to a mosque after the Muslims conquered Turkey, they painted over all of the Christian murals painted on the walls except for a picture of the Blessed Mother holding Baby Jesus.
 
Andre1000 said:
But pictures and statues are forbitten.
(name removed by moderator);9834831:
This is not actually true for all branches of Islam.
jeannetherese;9835344:
Hello (name removed by moderator),
Would you mind sharing a bit more information about this? Thank you so much.
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It may be a bit of oversimplification, but the concern over images is largely based out of the Arabian peninsula and the types of Islam practiced there. The modernist reforms, such as that inspired by al-Wahab, were attempts to get behind the traditional practices of Islam that were widely accepted throughout the Muslim world. The modernists have raised the iconoclasm that was not entirely absent from some Arabian piety to new and aggressive heights. On the other hand, Persian influenced Islam (i.e., Islam throughout Asia, both Sunni and Shi’a) has never been particularly troubled by images. Even the Prophet (pbuh) is often pictured in early Persian Islamic art, though later you do find some attempts at obscuring the face of the Prophet, even though he is still pictured.

Likewise, shrines and devotions to the saints are common practices throughout the Muslim world. Ordinary Muslims regularly make pilgrimages to such sites to pray and to ask for the intercessions of the saints. Images are not normally found in such shrines. As someone has already mentioned, the place where Mary supposedly ended her life is maintained by Turkey as a pilgrimage site. Even Saudi maintains the historical sites associated with the Prophet, including the tomb of the Prophet in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, which receives millions of pilgrims each year. Other relics often draw pilgrims, such as a head of John the Baptist that is found in Damascus, or the head of Hussein (pbuh) found in Egypt.

But if the use of images in shrines may not be common, the use of them at home as expressions of private devotion is not unusual at all. It would not be surprising to find a picture or statue of Mary (pbuh) in a Muslim’s home. Judging by experience, the use of an image seems more common among Shi’a, but it is possible for some Sunnis as well. Mary is a dearly beloved figure. Representations of Jesus (pbuh) in Muslim homes are not impossible, including a family I knew who had a really kitschy picture of Jesus holding a lamb in the entryway to their house. Shi’a homes will often have pictures of Hussein (pbuh). Sunni or Shi’a: it is common to have pictures of one’s religious leader or teacher hanging in the house. And it would be quite unusual if an Nizari Ismaili home did not have a picture of Aga Khan hanging in some devotional corner of the residence.

It is worth noting that even where there is resistance to images, it is usually a resistance to religious images and statues. Even Saudi has pictures of the royal family all over the place.

Of course, God is beyond all representation since God is beyond being.

Allahu A’lam.
 
Thank you for sharing that information Hypatia.🙂
May God bless us all!
Amen.
 
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