Mary is a Many-Splendored Thing

Mary Magdalene is an anomaly in Christian hagiography for her varied, and sometimes contradictory roles. The earliest texts elevate her to the status of the Companion of God, the mouthpiece of the Gnostics, Apostola Apostolorum (the apostle of the apostles), the New Eve, and the Sweet Friend of God. She is named in the Bible and is one of the most frequently depicted saints in Catholic history. After an analysis of numerous texts devoted to her, Mary Thompson points to Magdalene’s centrality to Christianity stating, she “appears repeatedly with the chosen disciples; she is given the leading role in the dialogs; she is singled out as a primary disciple; she is, more than once, in direct conflict with Peter from which conflict she emerges as the stronger.”[1] Her relics have been dispersed across Europe, and monasteries dedicated to her name have shaped pilgrimage routes and trade networks. Artistic depictions of her lead to her rise as the favourite female saint of the Middle Ages, and her role as an intercessor lead the famous poets of Europe to call on her for forgiveness. Her name has persisted in modern literature such as comic books, novels and films where her mythology has been used to garner popular success and raise questions about the Church’s treatment of women in history. An enormous corpus of work has been dedicated to Mary Magdalene over the centuries – volumes of hagiographical texts, poetry and plays that could fill library shelves, and paintings and sculptures that could fill museums. And yet, a simple glance into the realm of Islam and Mary Magdalene vanishes. Jesus assumes a very prominent role, as does his mother, the Virgin Mary; however, his companion, his apostle, his happy penitent friend is gone. There is not a single mention of Mary Magdalene in any of Sunni Islam’s accepted literature and this leaves me with a nagging question about why. Given how much of orthodox Islam continues from mainstream Christianity, the influence of which is well-documented at the time of Muhammad’s revelation, how can there be no evidence whatsoever of Mary Magdalene’s existence from the Muslim perspective? The work of this paper is to answer this question. In order to understand her absence, I must first look to the Islamic construction of Jesus as a man and a prophet. Her absence also hinges on Islamic orthodox interpretations of the crucifixion, the resurrection, attitudes towards ascetic practices, attitudes towards repentance and salvation, and the problem of intercession. Throughout this article, I will uncover her many and varied roles in Christianity, weighing their relevancy in Islam. Ultimately, I will be left to question her very existence along with the historical sources which are used in Christianity to justify it.

Before beginning, a note about methodology is in order. Due to the fact that I am dealing with the absence of a religious figure in a cross-religious comparison, the construction of the dossier of this saint is tricky, to say the least. On one hand, I will be looking at the Christian dossier to determine her many roles. The purpose of this is to assess which roles are in contradiction with orthodox Islamic principles and might explain the lack of crossover. For these purposes, I will be relying mainly on accepted scriptural texts from Christianity and Islam: namely, the New International Version of the New Testament, an acceptable (and heavily scrutinized) English translation of the meaning of the Holy Qur’an, authenticated historical sources from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and tafsir or Qur’anic exegesis from celebrated, mainstream Islamic scholars. In doing this, however, I am not seeking to determine what can be said to be true about Mary Magdalene. As such, my analysis is not preoccupied with historical verification of this individual (at least not at first), but rather centers on what about her elevation in Christianity is either problematic or not relevant in Islam to warrant not a single mention in 1400 years.

Jesus, Prophet of Islam

Considering that Mary Magdalene’s close proximity to Jesus is largely what warrants her edification and sainthood in Christianity, his construction in Islam demands closer observation to understand her absence. Jesus is mentioned fifty-nine times in the Qur’an, significantly more than Muhammad who is mentioned only five times.[2] Through these references, a clearer picture of Jesus in Islam comes to the fore with additional hadith to supplement it. The purpose of this paper is not to debate Islamic understandings of Jesus, for which there is much discourse. Instead, I will briefly recreate the image espoused by mainstream, Sunni Islam – the sect I am primarily concerned with.

In the Qur’an, Jesus is removed of all divinity[3] and claims of being the son of God[4]. Indeed, he is stripped down to his humanity: a mere messenger in a long line of messengers[5] imploring people to worship one God alone. Jesus is considered, by Muslims, to be a prophet of God,[6] the word of God[7], and the Messiah.[8] It should be noted that while Muslims respect and love Jesus, he is not regarded as a singular unique event in history. Rather, he is perceived to have been sent at his particular time for his people with the same message as those that came before him: strict monotheism.[9] Many of his miracles are maintained in Qur’anic scripture and some even differ from those found in the Christian tradition, such as his abilities to walk on water and speak immediately after birth, respectively.[10]

The hadith (sayings and witnessing of the life of Prophet Muhammad) are another area of Islamic literature that offer us greater insight into the Muslim understanding of Jesus. For the purposes of this paper, only hadith that have been scientifically and historically verified to be rigorously authentic will be used. These are found mainly in the vast collected volumes of Imams Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, An-Nisa’I and Ibn Majah, and were gathered together between 150 and 275 years following the death of Prophet Muhammad (or between 750 and 875 years after the ascension of Jesus). The compendium of these authenticated resources are the second of two religious texts accepted by Sunni Muslims – the first being the Qur’an. In the Qur’an itself, Muslims are commanded to recognize the authority of these hadith and the messages they transmit.[11]

According to these sources, prophecies are relayed about Jesus’ return to earth as a sign of the End of Days and in order to defeat the dajjal (antichrist).[12] During this return, it is stated repeatedly that Jesus will “break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizya (taxes)”[13] As well, his proximity to the Prophet Muhammad is noted continuously: “I am most close to Jesus, son of Mary, among the whole of mankind in this worldly life and the next life.”[14] Jesus is furthered described as being “a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet.”[15] Insofar as both the Qur’an and the authenticated hadith are used as the foundations for Sunni Islam, I can safely conclude that there is absolutely zero mention of Jesus’ divinity or of him being anything more than a mere Prophet of God and both sources go far to refute these claims as blasphemy – anything else would be contradictory to the foundations of Islamic monotheism.

This construction of Jesus as only a prophet is crucial to our understanding of Mary Magdalene’s absence in Islam. In the Christian tradition, there has been much debate and speculation about the nature of her relationship to Jesus – particularly as to whether or not it was sexual or marital. This issue has come to the fore recently as popular cultural texts have been produced in the last decade that use The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Pistis Sophia, and The Gospel of Mary as evidence that Magdalene was the lover of Christ and this was one of the main reasons for the suppression of these Gnostic texts.[16] Whether or not this is true is not my purpose. Rather, if we understand that one of the first (and most controversial) roles of Magdalene- at least for the Gnostics- was as the Companion of the Saviour, it will become easier to understand why this did not carry over to Islam.

In the aforementioned Gnostic texts, Magdalene is referred to as either Mary Magdalene or Maria the Magdalene and her roles as “disciple, visionary, mediatrix and messenger of esoteric revelations” are illuminated.[17] She is further described as “the woman who knew All”, “the chief interlocutrix of the Saviour”, “the inheritor of Light” and the most important of the three women “who were always with the Lord.”[18] In the Gospel of Mary, a unique authority is assigned to Magdalene because of her closeness with Christ – something that is acknowledged when Peter says: “Sister, we know that the Saviour loved you more than the rest of the women.”[19] When Magdalene is depicted explaining an inner vision she has had (a privilege not conferred on the other disciples), a confrontation occurs in which Magdalene’s authority is questioned. Remarkably, she is defended by Levi who states, “Surely the Saviour knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us [to give her these visions alone].”[20]

Finally, Magdalene is also referred to as Jesus’ “companion” – a role that necessarily precedes all others that followed. What kind of companionship was this though? Most of the historical scholarship on this issue centers around the terminology used, particularly the Greek term koinonos, which Susan Haskins feels is imperfectly translated as companion because it neglects the implied subtext of partner, consort or a woman with whom a man has had sexual intercourse.[21] In the Gospel of Phillip, the sexual nature of their relationship is made clearer and offered as a reason for her special status with Christ:

But Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on the mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, “Why do you love her more than all of us?” The Saviour answered and said to them, “Why do I not love you like her?[22]

This particular passage is considered a major point of contention among scholars with some interpreting it literally and others metaphorically. When taken metaphorically the ‘kiss’ represents spiritual nourishment and Jesus reflects the disciples question to them by reversing it.[23] When the passage is completed, it becomes clear that Jesus sets Magdalene apart because she is the only one in the presence of the Light of Jesus who is not blind to it: “When a blind man and one who sees are both together in the darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in the darkness.”[24] Regardless of the scholarly interpretation of the kiss as erotic or otherwise, there is a distinguishing of Magdalene among her peers that cannot be denied. In the Pistis Sophia, another jealous rivalry takes place between Magdalene and the disciples, ending with her telling Jesus about her worries regarding Peter “because he wont to threaten me, and he hateth our sex.”[25] Several interpretations of this level of companionship are possible. Perhaps the most provocative of these is that “Peter’s antagonism towards Mary Magdalene may reflect the historical ambivalence of the leaders of the orthodox community towards the participation of women in the Church” and so might reflect a political tension between Gnostics (who saw Magdalene as their mouthpiece) and the early church (which was represented by Peter).[26]

The reasons for the suppression of these texts by the mainstream Church are numerous, particularly the controversial nature of a sexual or marital relationships with Magdalene and the role of powerful women at the time of revelation. The issue of a marital relationship for Christ has been an ongoing debate among Christians since at least the third century after his death. As recently as November 9, 2014, the Daily Mail reported a new book that had interests in this subject matter called The Lost Gospel by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson. They claim to have unearthed new evidence which describes not only Christ’s marriage to Mary Magdalene but the existence of two of his sons as well. Based on the content of a vellum manuscript dating from 570AD, the writers claim that is actually a copy of the lost fifth gospel of the New Testament that describes the scenario above. It was, however, written in code that was deciphered by the writers to reveal its controversial findings: “it tells of Jesus’ marriage through the story of the Old Testament character Joseph and his wife Aseneth.”[27] If this sounds familiar, it should. Another famous novel, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, is centered around the same theme of proving Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene and the existence of Christ’s progeny on earth today. The book and film have grossed Brown over $100 million in profits. The controversial nature of this ongoing debate shows its central importance as an issue for the Church. Numerous “modern theologians have suggested that he may[…]have been married, as a rabbi of his age in orthodox Judaism is more than likely to have been.”[28] This lends itself well to theories of marriage to Magdalene, “particularly given his rabbinical background… [where] a woman could only become a disciple if her master or husband were a rabbi.”[29] Either way, the Church simply does not have the ability to reconcile their dogma on the divinity of Christ with the possibility of his earthly marriage and the idea of divinity engaging in human sexual behavior.

For Muslims, this is not an issue because Christ is not divine. As a man, first and foremost, Islamic doctrine not only takes no issue with his marriage or permissible sexual activity, it expects and encourages it. According to Hadith 3096 as recorded by Imam At-Tirmidhi, Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, “When a man marries he has fulfilled half of the ‘deen’ (religion); so let him fear Allah regarding the remaining half.”[30] Marriage is a cornerstone of faith in Islam because it prevents zina or unlawful sexual intercourse between two adults. It is considered one of the major kabaa’ir sins after shirk (associating other things in worship with Allah – the only unforgivable sin in Islam) and murder.[31] Elsewhere, the Qur’an states, “And come not near to unlawful sexual intercourse (Zina). Verily, it is a faahishah (anything that transgresses its limits-a great sin) and an evil way (that leads one to Hell unless Allah forgives him).”[32] Marriage in Islam is not only a preventative prohibition of evil in recognizing the natural inclinations of men and women to desire intercourse (as they were created) but also signifies God’s power and glory. The Qur’an says, “From His signs is that He has created for you spouses from yourselves so that you may get peace [and tranquility] through them; and He placed between you love and mercy. In these are signs for the people who reflect.”[33] This is not a concept unique to Islam though, but was also present in Judaism – the idea of expecting a man, particularly a preaching Rabbi as Jesus was, to remain celibate was not only unusual but signaled his incompleteness.

In this understanding, there would be no issue with the marriage of Jesus to Mary Magdalene or whomever else he proposed. The Qur’an acknowledges that prophets are in need of marriage like any other man – “And certainly We sent messengers before you and gave them wives and children, and it is not in (the power of) an messenger to bring a sign except by Allah’s permission; for every term there is an appointment”[34]– but makes no mention of whether or not Jesus did. While most Islamic scholars agree that this might indicate that Jesus did not marry (making him an anomaly among messengers), the absence of mention for his potential wife is not unusual. In fact, of twenty-six named prophets in the Qur’an, only twelve of them have wives that are either named or noted in a significant way.

In all instances where a wife of a prophet is named, it is only with a particular didactic purpose behind it. Hawwa (Eve), wife of Adam, is named for obvious purposes regarding the fall from the Garden – a story I will cover in the coming sections. In recognized scholarly tafsir (exegesis of the Qur’an), Ibn Kathir tells the stories of Ayub’s (Job) wife as being susceptible to the whisperings of the devil and the role of Dawud’s (David) wife in warning him of Saul’s jealousy. Ibrahim (Abraham) has two wives that are not named in the Qur’an but whose roles are cited elsewhere as being central to Islam. His first wife, Sarah, was barren for a long time before giving birth to Isaac (the father of the Israelites) at an extremely old age. The annunciation of this miracle child is found in Surah Hud of the Qur’an, verses 69-72. Hajar, Ibrahim’s second wife, bore him a son named Isma’il (Ishmael) thirteen years prior. Isma’il is not only the father of the Arabs from which Muhammad eventually came, but in Islam, he was the son to be sacrificed by Ibrahim (not Isaac) and his protection is the reason that Muslims celebrate ‘Eid-ul-Adha annually. When Ibrahim brought Hajar and Isma’il to the desert near Mecca, the story of her running between two hills in search of water and eventually finding the miracle Zamzam spring is recorded in Surah Ibrahim of the Holy Qur’an. It is an integral part of the Hajj pilgrimage. Both women, Hajar and Sarah, served as exemplars of patience in faith. Isma’il would eventually marry a woman from the Jurhum people who had settled near the Zamzam, but would divorce her and remarry another woman from the same tribe when his father, Ibrahim, was rebuked by her and she lacked hospitality.[35] Many times, such as this, a wife of a prophet is mentioned in order to show the lineage of prophets among one another. Such is also the case of Ishaq (Isaac), brother of Isma’il and son of Sarah and Ibrahim. He would go on to marry Rebekah, the mother of Al Eis and, another prophet, Yaqub (Jacob).

In the case of the wife of Lut (Lot), her mention in the Qur’an is purely as a warning for believers when her destruction, along with their towns (commonly believed to be Sodom and Gomorrah, though unnamed in the Qur’an), came as a result of her transgression. Twice the Qur’an states her fate:

O Lut ! Verily, we are the Messengers from your Lord! They shall not reach you! So travel with your family in a part of the night, and let not any of you look back, but your wife (will remain behind), verily, the punishment which will afflict them, will afflict her. Indeed, morning is their appointed time. Is not the morning near?”[36] [and] “So we saved him and his family, all except an old woman (his wife) among those who remained behind.”[37]