How many angels appeared to Mariam, according to the Quran?
The standard Islamic narrative tells us that the angel Jibreel appeared to Mariam and foretold the news of the birth of Isa to her. However, when we take a look at what the Quran actually says, we find that the story related in the Quran is a huge mess of contradictions and conjectures.
Let me show you what I mean. Let’s begin with the following verse.
And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit (RUH) and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.
Sura 19:17 Pickthall
Here we have Allah stating that he sent “Our Spirit” to Mariam. And Allah’s Spirit took the form of a man before her.
Who or what is this Allah’s Spirit (RUH)?
Muslims explain that it is the Holy Spirit. i.e. the angel Jibreel, although the Quran does not identify the Holy Spirit as an angel nor does the Quran state that it was Jibreel that spoke to Mariam. You have to wonder how Muslims made this baseless connection that Jibreel is the Holy Spirit.
In fact, a number of English translations of the Quran perpetrate a false translation of 19:17. The Arabic word is RUH but popular translations like Sahih International and Yusuf Ali have deceptively reinterpreted “ruh” as “angel”. (As you can see, I quoted Pickthall above, which, at least, offers the proper translation for ruh, i.e. spirit.)
For arguments’ sake, let’s assume that the Holy Spirit that appeared to Mariam was indeed the angel Jibreel. This makes it worse.
Why? Notice how Mariam addresses the one speaking to her in Sura 3:47.
She said: MY LORD (RABBI)! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me? He said: So (it will be). Allah createth what He will. If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is.
The title My LORD (RABBI) is used for Allah throughout the Quran in hundreds of verses. (e.g. 2:126, 6:45, 26:169, etc.)
In the very same chapter, just a couple of verses earlier, the same word, “rabbi”, is used and Mariam is commanded to prostrate in worship to her Lord.
“O Mary! Be obedient to thy Lord (LIRABBIKI), prostrate thyself and bow with those who bow (in worship).” (3:43)
Why was Mariam addressing Jibreel with the same title as Allah? Why was she instructed to prostrate in worship? Is Jibreel equal to Allah? Even if Mariam was mistaken, surely Jibreel must have corrected her or Allah must have rebuked her. Yet, we find Jibreel “participating” in Mariam’s unforgiveable sin of shirk, i.e. associating a creature with Allah. Why did Allah overlook this most grevious sin of Mariam and Jibreel? Was he distracted with something else that he missed it?
Now let’s look at Sura 3:45.
And remember when the angels said, “O Maryam! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Eisa the son of Maryam – he will be honourable in this world and in the Hereafter, and among the close ones (to Allah).”
Remember the question I opened this article with? How many angels appeared to Mariam, according to the Quran?
Sura 3:45 says “angels”, indicating there was more than one angel that appeared to Mariam. Two? Three? Five? We’re not told. In 19:17, Allah says he sent His Spirit, whom Muslims interpret as the sole angel Jibreel. Did Allah send one angel or more than one angel to Mariam? This is a clear contradiction in the Quran. Many more contradictions on this page: Contradictions In The Quran
“Do they not then meditate on the Quran? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a contradiction.”Sura 4:82
We’ve only looked at a couple of verses but we’ve found a ton of confusion and conjectures that Muslims are forced to juggle.
If there were multiple angels that appeared to Mariam and talked to her, according to 3:45, then using the argument of Muslims, that it was the Holy Spirit that appeared Mariam, then we have to ask how many Holy Spirits are there in Islam?
Finally, let’s look at Sura 66:12.
In this verse Allah details exactly how he accomplished the conception of Isa. On the contrary, according to the standard Islamic narrative, Allah simply said, “Be” (3:47), and lo and behold, Isa was created. Once again, The Quran stumbles over itself in yet another contradiction. Was Isa created when Allah simply pronounced “kun fa ya kun” (as in 3:47) or did Allah also have to blow into Mariam’s private part (as in 66:12 and 21:91)?
Sura 66:12 is a prime example of how the English translations of the Quran fabricate lies. You can look at 20 different translations and none of them translate the Arabic word FARJAHA correctly. I have found only Dr Ghali’s translation gets it spot on. The rest are probably too embarrassed about what Allah did to Mariam. You can look up the translation of فرج yourself in any Arabic-English translator online.
According to Sura 66:12, it was Allah himself who blew into Mariam’s private part. “WE breathed in it…”.
It was Allah himself who was present, taking the form of a man, to do the blowing! No wonder Mariam correctly addressed him as “My Lord.”
It all makes sense now.
Or does it?