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<blockquote data-quote="Niblo" data-source="post: 76086285" data-attributes="member: 369781"><p>‘Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people, ‘‘Take me and my mother as two gods (<em>ilāhayni</em>) alongside Allāh’’?’ he will say: ''May You be exalted! I would never say what I had no right to say……”’ (Al-Ma’ida: 116).</p><p></p><p>We have to understand what is meant by the word ‘<em>ilāhayni</em>’ in the phrase: ‘Take me and my mother as two gods (<em>ilāhayni</em>) alongside Allāh.’</p><p></p><p><em>Ilāhayni </em>is derived from the word <em>ilāh, </em>meaning ‘god’; and it can be applied to anyone who usurps the Beloved’s Sovereignty, or flouts His Will; or to anything that is worshipped – in whatever form that might take – before Him; or in place of Him; or in partnership with Him.</p><p></p><p>When we sin, for example, we make an <em>ilāh </em>of ourselves. We are – in effect – putting ourselves before the Beloved.</p><p></p><p>Next, we have to ask which ‘people’ took Mary as a ‘god’?</p><p></p><p>The Catholic Encyclopaedia announces:</p><p></p><p>‘The existence of the obscure sect of the Collyridians, whom St Epiphanius (d. 403) denounces for their sacrificial offering of cakes to Mary, may fairly be held to prove that even before the Council of Ephesus there was a popular veneration for the Virgin Mother which threatened to run extravagant lengths. Hence Epiphanius laid down the rule: "Let Mary be held in honour. Let the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be adored, but let no one adore Mary" (<em>ten Marian medeis prosknueito</em>).’ (Article entitled: ‘The age of the Fathers’).</p><p></p><p>I first read of the Collrydians in the late seventies.</p><p></p><p>Having expressed a desire to enter a Catholic religious community (the Trappists of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, in Leicester), I was gifted several books, including a copy of Dr Ludwig Ott’s ‘Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma’ (I have it still).</p><p></p><p>On page 216 of that book – in the chapter headed ‘The Veneration of Mary – Ott writes: ‘St Epiphanius teaches in opposition to the sect of the Collyridians whose members paid an idolatrous veneration to Mary (he then quotes from the Saint’s ‘Panarion’).’</p><p></p><p>Geoffrey Parrinder writes:</p><p></p><p>'In Arabia there were in the early centuries some (called Antidicomarianites) who protested against the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary. But there were cults, some semi-pagan, which exalted Mary in unseemly fashion. The Collyridians, an Arabian female sect of the fourth century, offered to Mary cakes of bread (collyrida), as they had done to the great earth mother in pagan times. Epiphanius, who opposed this heresy, said that the Trinity must be worshipped, but Mary must not be worshipped. The Qur'ān may well be directed against this heresy. It gives its support against Mariolatry, while at the same time it recognizes the importance of Mary as the vessel chosen by God for the birth of his Christ.' ('Jesus in the Qur'an - Makers of the Muslim World').</p><p></p><p>The following also affirm the existence of the Collyridians, without qualm: W. Montgomery Watt in his ‘Muhammad at Mecca’; Philip Schaff in his ‘History of the Christian church; Volume 4; , Chapter 3); and William Cook Taylor in his ‘Readings in Biography: A Selection of the Lives of Eminent Men of All Nations’.</p><p></p><p>Louay Fatoohi writes:</p><p></p><p>'I should stress another important point. A common mistake in studying the Qur’an’s discussion of Christian beliefs, including the doctrine of the Trinity, is to suggest that the Qur'an talks about the New Testament only, or simply misunderstands it. The Qur'an rejects particular Christian beliefs, regardless of whether they are found in the New Testament or not. For instance, the Qur'an rejects the worship of Mary, even though Mariolatry is not a New Testament doctrine. The New Testament does not have any special scriptural value outside mainstream Christianity, which was itself defined in the first few centuries after Jesus. The Qur'an is interested in clarifying its positions on doctrines that Christians hold, regardless of the origin of those doctrines. The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger before whom similar messengers passed away, and his mother was a saintly woman.' ('Jesus The Muslim Prophet: History Speaks of a Human Messiah Not a Divine Christ').</p><p></p><p>The whole of sūrah Al-Ma'ida was revealed after the city of Mecca had been taken by the Muslims.</p><p></p><p>Among the Ka’ba’s three hundred and sixty (or so) idols was a statue (or perhaps an icon) of Mary and her son; placed there by a Christian visitor to the city (in the days before Islam). Every year thereafter, for at least twenty-three years, these idols were made accessible for public worship. During the pilgrimage season, people from all over Arabia (and beyond) would flock to the Ka’ba to pay homage to their gods.</p><p></p><p>It is not unreasonable to conclude that – over time – Mary and her son came to be regarded by the polytheistic Arabs as gods, alongside their Ka’ba companions. It is possible, therefore, that sūrah is also addressing these same Arabs; is correcting their false belief.</p><p></p><p>The Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) destroyed every one of these idols, save that of Mary and her child.</p><p></p><p>No longer to be considered ‘gods,’ these two are greatly honoured in Islam.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Niblo, post: 76086285, member: 369781"] ‘Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people, ‘‘Take me and my mother as two gods ([I]ilāhayni[/I]) alongside Allāh’’?’ he will say: ''May You be exalted! I would never say what I had no right to say……”’ (Al-Ma’ida: 116). We have to understand what is meant by the word ‘[I]ilāhayni[/I]’ in the phrase: ‘Take me and my mother as two gods ([I]ilāhayni[/I]) alongside Allāh.’ [I]Ilāhayni [/I]is derived from the word [I]ilāh, [/I]meaning ‘god’; and it can be applied to anyone who usurps the Beloved’s Sovereignty, or flouts His Will; or to anything that is worshipped – in whatever form that might take – before Him; or in place of Him; or in partnership with Him. When we sin, for example, we make an [I]ilāh [/I]of ourselves. We are – in effect – putting ourselves before the Beloved. Next, we have to ask which ‘people’ took Mary as a ‘god’? The Catholic Encyclopaedia announces: ‘The existence of the obscure sect of the Collyridians, whom St Epiphanius (d. 403) denounces for their sacrificial offering of cakes to Mary, may fairly be held to prove that even before the Council of Ephesus there was a popular veneration for the Virgin Mother which threatened to run extravagant lengths. Hence Epiphanius laid down the rule: "Let Mary be held in honour. Let the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be adored, but let no one adore Mary" ([I]ten Marian medeis prosknueito[/I]).’ (Article entitled: ‘The age of the Fathers’). I first read of the Collrydians in the late seventies. Having expressed a desire to enter a Catholic religious community (the Trappists of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, in Leicester), I was gifted several books, including a copy of Dr Ludwig Ott’s ‘Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma’ (I have it still). On page 216 of that book – in the chapter headed ‘The Veneration of Mary – Ott writes: ‘St Epiphanius teaches in opposition to the sect of the Collyridians whose members paid an idolatrous veneration to Mary (he then quotes from the Saint’s ‘Panarion’).’ Geoffrey Parrinder writes: 'In Arabia there were in the early centuries some (called Antidicomarianites) who protested against the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary. But there were cults, some semi-pagan, which exalted Mary in unseemly fashion. The Collyridians, an Arabian female sect of the fourth century, offered to Mary cakes of bread (collyrida), as they had done to the great earth mother in pagan times. Epiphanius, who opposed this heresy, said that the Trinity must be worshipped, but Mary must not be worshipped. The Qur'ān may well be directed against this heresy. It gives its support against Mariolatry, while at the same time it recognizes the importance of Mary as the vessel chosen by God for the birth of his Christ.' ('Jesus in the Qur'an - Makers of the Muslim World'). The following also affirm the existence of the Collyridians, without qualm: W. Montgomery Watt in his ‘Muhammad at Mecca’; Philip Schaff in his ‘History of the Christian church; Volume 4; , Chapter 3); and William Cook Taylor in his ‘Readings in Biography: A Selection of the Lives of Eminent Men of All Nations’. Louay Fatoohi writes: 'I should stress another important point. A common mistake in studying the Qur’an’s discussion of Christian beliefs, including the doctrine of the Trinity, is to suggest that the Qur'an talks about the New Testament only, or simply misunderstands it. The Qur'an rejects particular Christian beliefs, regardless of whether they are found in the New Testament or not. For instance, the Qur'an rejects the worship of Mary, even though Mariolatry is not a New Testament doctrine. The New Testament does not have any special scriptural value outside mainstream Christianity, which was itself defined in the first few centuries after Jesus. The Qur'an is interested in clarifying its positions on doctrines that Christians hold, regardless of the origin of those doctrines. The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger before whom similar messengers passed away, and his mother was a saintly woman.' ('Jesus The Muslim Prophet: History Speaks of a Human Messiah Not a Divine Christ'). The whole of sūrah Al-Ma'ida was revealed after the city of Mecca had been taken by the Muslims. Among the Ka’ba’s three hundred and sixty (or so) idols was a statue (or perhaps an icon) of Mary and her son; placed there by a Christian visitor to the city (in the days before Islam). Every year thereafter, for at least twenty-three years, these idols were made accessible for public worship. During the pilgrimage season, people from all over Arabia (and beyond) would flock to the Ka’ba to pay homage to their gods. It is not unreasonable to conclude that – over time – Mary and her son came to be regarded by the polytheistic Arabs as gods, alongside their Ka’ba companions. It is possible, therefore, that sūrah is also addressing these same Arabs; is correcting their false belief. The Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) destroyed every one of these idols, save that of Mary and her child. No longer to be considered ‘gods,’ these two are greatly honoured in Islam. [/QUOTE]
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