maryam (as) & the divine feminine
it was a late ramadan evening and i was reading through the qur’an before going to bed, eager to finish off my juz for the night. this year, i did things slightly differently and wanted to complete the qur’an within ramadan in english translation only. while i know that there’s a reward for every letter you recite of the qur’an in arabic, in earlier years, it felt like i was just reading to finish it, rather than reading to understand. it didn’t feel like i took anything in at all.
so, this ramadan became one of reading it front to cover in english - something that i’ve never done before, but was incredibly fulfilling and helped me connect with the qur’an in a way i never have before.
so, there i was, that late night evening. it was juz 17, and i was reading surah al anbiya - the chapter of the prophets. as i sat in bed, i read about the many different prophets that Allah mentions by name.
Dawud, Suleiman, Ayyub, Isma’il, Idris, Dha’l-Kifl, Dha’l-Nun, Zakariyya (as)
and then… finally, sitting at the end, beneath all of the prophets, is Maryam (as).
“And [remember] her who preserved her chastity; so We breathed into her of Our word and We made her and her son a Sign for peoples” Verily, this is your people — one people; and I am your Lord, so worship Me (21:92-93)1
like a beautiful way to tie up a knot, the satisfying feeling of making the perfect bow on the back of a dress, maryam (as) is mentioned, along with isa (as), followed by a beautiful conclusion.
while maryam (as) wasn’t a prophet, the fact that she is mentioned alongside them highlights the extremely high status she has in the eyes of Allah (SWT).
and this made me start to think about maryam (as) more deeply. i thought about her story and compared it to what i know of the prophets, trying to understand the rank she has in Allah’s eyes and what made her have it.
and this made me think about the divine feminine and divine masculine.
the feminine is often associated with receiving, being soft and open, while the masculine is often associated with providing and taking action.
this is not a new phenomenon as these archetypes historically appear in many different ancient cultures and beliefs, such as the ying (feminine) and yang (masculine), imagery of the sun (masculine) and moon (feminine) or fire (masculine) and water (feminine).
we even see this trope in sufi literature, particularly in sufi poetry. a great example is the love story of layla and majnun. while the original arab story is a romance tale between a man and a woman, sufi literature added on to this and transformed it into an allegory of the love of a human for Allah. in this way, majnun, who is the hero/the lover/the seeker (masculine) goes on a quest in search for Allah, the Beloved (feminine), represented by layla.
in modern times, the concept of the divine feminine and divine masculine has resurfaced and become popular, with the idea that not one energy is better than the other, but they go in pairs and complement each other. it’s the idea that we all have both of these energies inside of us: the masculine energy shines within us when making decisions, solving problems or at work etc, while the feminine energy shines within us when we need to be caring, empathetic, softer—regardless of our gender:via Soulaia
in essence, it’s about being the highest version of ourselves in both of these energies, embracing them to the best of our abilities for the greater good of not just ourselves, but also the world.
i’ve often heard the stories of the prophets and how they, as young children, remained devoted to Allah. they knew of the Oneness of Allah from young or had an inkling to search for the truth from young while living in a place where people worshipped idols. and while they prayed, sometimes their du’as took years to come into fruition. for example, ibrahim (as) prayed for years for a son and then finally got one in old age.
maryam (as) also, as a child, remained devoted to Allah. we learn from the qur’an that her mother, while pregnant, devoted her child to Allah before maryam (as) was even born:
'[Remember] when [the] woman of ‘Imran said, ‘My Lord, I have vowed to Thee what is in my womb to be dedicated to Thy service. So do accept it of me; verily, Thou alone art All-Hearing, All-Knowing.’ (3:36)
and maryam (as) was, indeed, very devoted to Allah from a very young age, remaining prayerful and trusting in Him. and when we look at her story, we can see how she received in abundance her entire life... almost instantly.
when she was young, every time zakariyya (as) went to her chamber, he kept seeing fruits in there, and he asked her where they were all coming from.
Whenever Zachariah visited her in the chamber, he found with her provisions. He said, ‘O Mary, where did this come from?’ She replied, ‘It is from Allah.’ Surely, Allah gives to whomsoever He pleases without measure. (3:38).
she asked and she received. her deep trust and belief in Allah as her provider moved zakariyya (as), a prophet, so much so that he himself became inspired through her to ask Allah for what he really wanted: a child.
There did Zachariah pray to his Lord, saying, ‘My Lord, grant me from Thyself pure offspring; surely, Thou art the Hearer of prayer.’ (3:39)
and his du’a was answered, he received a child—miraculously too, as both him and his wife were in their old age.
the peak and most highest form of maryam (as) receiving from Allah is when she receives a baby inside of her without her needing to do anything at all and remaining chaste. she doesn’t even need a husband and Allah miraculously provides her with a baby.Subscribe
and then, even when going through the intense pains of childbirth, to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore and wished that she were not even alive, she didn’t have to move an inch, as Allah had already given her a stream of water quite literally beneath her feet, and dates in the tree she was resting against.
And the pains of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of a palm-tree. She said, ‘O! would that I had died before this and had become a thing quite forgotten!’ Then he called her from beneath her, [saying], “Grieve not. Thy Lord has placed a rivulet below thee; And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree; it will cause fresh ripe dates to fall upon thee. So eat and drink, and cool [thy] eye. And if thou seest any man, say, ‘I have vowed a fast to the Gracious God; I will therefore not speak this day to any human being.’” (19:24-27).
Allah provided for her again and she was receiving and receiving and receiving left, right and centre. even when she was going through hardship after she gave birth, particularly when people started questioning her honour after seeing her with child, in a way, isa (as) being a prophet proved her innocence and is a way that Allah provided for her in that respect.
comparing this to the prophets, i thought this was so interesting. while some of them did have their du’as answered instantly, like the du’a of yunus (as) in the belly of the whale, it was not only without huge trial but they had to do something. convey a message, build an ark, go to a tyrant who wants you dead and speak to him.
but maryam (as) didn’t have to do any of that. she was simply devoted to Allah at such a high level from a very young age, and remained pure and devoted her entire life. she believed in His ability to provide, she trusted Him so deeply, she remained righteous and pure, she surrendered to His will, and she asked, and she received.
she embraced her femininity in the highest way so beautifully.
thinking about this all, i wonder why sometimes, as women, we seem to worry so much when it’s in our essence and nature to receive. we all have the feminine and masculine energies within us but, as women, the feminine is, of course, what comes most naturally to us. so, why not tap into the receptivity within us? if it’s in our inner nature, why worry so much when the Lord of all the worlds can provide without measure? why not truly internalise this belief?
if maryam (as) can have that much dependency on something as little as fruits coming into her room, why not have that same tawakkul for a job? the spouse? the promotion? the house? the child? or even little things like catching the bus on time or getting that work done.
maryam (as) exemplified the hadith qudsi “I am as my servant thinks of Me” before it was even a hadith, because of the way she truly believed, deep down to her core, that Allah provides for whomsoever He wills.
it feels so satisfying to simply imagine just sitting back and finally relaxing, and letting Allah take control of the wheels. it’s an ironic thing to say because Allah always has control of the wheels. but sometimes, when i really analyse myself, i realise i’m behaving like a child who wants to try and grab on to the steering wheel, begging and crying to have a chance to drive when their parent quite literally is in control and just wants to drive in peace. how much easier it would be to remain devoted to Allah, remember Him and do my dhikr by sitting in the passenger’s seat of life, and simply receive Allah’s gifts at His own pace, in His own time.
because maryam (as) didn’t just sit back and do nothing. she was constantly in remembrance of Allah, constantly praying and doing things to please Him. and He was. so much so that she is mentioned alongside the prophets.
we can learn so much from her to depend on Allah and strengthen our tawakkul so deeply and tap into the feminine energy within us that naturally is prone to receiving.
trust that when you make your du’as, they have already been answered.
trust that Allah would not have put that thought in your head or allowed you to move your lips to ask for that thing for no reason. trust that it is already on its way to you. believe in Allah’s power like maryam (as), remain devoted and obedient to Him and allow yourself to sit back and receive. and watch the wonders that happen.
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