Qur'an, Sura 19 (Maryam)
c. c. 612 – c. 622
Place: mecca
21.422, 39.826 · On the map
The text is attested (parts of 19:91–98 are in the Birmingham folios). The Meccan date is traditional and widely accepted. Dye argues 19:34–40 is a later addition reflecting a different setting.
Sura 19 is traditionally dated to the Meccan period. It tells of John's birth to Zechariah, the annunciation to Mary, the birth under a palm, and the infant Jesus speaking: 'I am the servant of God; He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet' (19:30). Verses 34–40 then deny that God takes a son.
People named here
- Mary
- Jesus
- Zechariah
- John
Where scholars disagree
For
- Angelika Neuwirth — 2009: Meccan, Marian piety reshaped as a counter to Byzantine imperial Mariology
Against
- Guillaume Dye — 2012: parts reflect a later Palestinian context (Kathisma)
Links
Text and wording
Out
Qur'an, Sura 3 (Al 'Imran): Mary's family and Jesus
The Mary-and-Jesus story is retold and expanded in Medinan Sura 3.
develops
attestedOut
Dome of the Rock inscriptions (691/2)
The Dome inscription quotes Q 19:33–36.
quoted_in
attestedIn
Zechariah and Mary narratives; the annunciation setting.
text_parallel
attestedIn
Syriac/Arabic Infancy Gospel (Jesus speaks in the cradle)
The infant Jesus speaks in the cradle (Arabic Infancy Gospel 1; Q 19:29–33), but the content of his speech differs.
text_parallel
attestedIn
Palm-tree miracle (Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and Dormition texts)
Palm and spring given to Mary (Ps-Matt 20; Q 19:23–26), moved from the flight into Egypt to the birth.
text_parallel
attested
Influence
In
Church of the Kathisma ('Seat' of Mary) between Jerusalem and Bethlehem
The local Kathisma cult (Mary's rest, palm/spring) is proposed as the setting behind Q 19:22–26.
influenced
scholarly hypothesisIn
Tatian's Diatessaron (single harmonized gospel)
Hypothesis: a single harmonized 'Injil' lies behind the Qur'an's singular Gospel.
influenced
scholarly hypothesisIn
Syriac Marian and paradise poetry as a background to Qur'anic imagery (Andrae).
influenced
scholarly hypothesis
Report and reading
Out
Birmingham Qur'an folios (radiocarbon 568–645)
The Birmingham folios contain Q 19:91–98.
witnessed_by
attested
Context
In
First hijra: Muslim refugees at the court of the Negus
Ja'far is said to have recited Surat Maryam before the Negus.
recited
traditionalIn
Council of Chalcedon (451): Christ 'in two natures'
Christian division into sects (Q 19:37 'the factions differed') against a background of post-Chalcedon schism.
context
scholarly hypothesisIn
Council of Ephesus (431): Mary as Theotokos
The Qur'an's human, honored Mary versus Theotokos theology.
context
scholarly hypothesisIn
Was there an Arabic Bible before Islam?
Oral and liturgical, rather than written Arabic, transmission of biblical stories.
context
scholarly hypothesis
Sources
- Qur'an, Surat Maryam (19)
Quran.com. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Angelika Neuwirth, 'Imagining Mary – Disputing Jesus: Reading Surat Maryam and Related Meccan Texts', in Fremde, Feinde und Kurioses (2009), 383–416
De Gruyter. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Discussion of G. Dye, 'Lieux saints communs, partagés ou confisqués: aux sources de quelques péricopes coraniques (Q 19:16–33)' (in Partage du sacré, 2012) and S. Shoemaker, 'Christmas in the Qur'an' (JSAI 28, 2003): 'Palmeira e pedra desenterrados'
REVER (PUC-SP). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Gabriel Said Reynolds, The Qur'an and the Bible: Text and Commentary (2018)
Yale University Press. Accessed 2026-11-11.