مريم
Maryam
Mary, mother of Jesus: the only woman named in the Quran, which gives her a chapter.
What it means
The Quran says that the angels told her God had chosen and purified her above the women of the worlds (3:42). Chapter 19 is named after her, and chapter 66 holds her up as a model of faith and chastity (66:12). The Prophet is reported to have said that the best of women were Mary, daughter of Imran, and Khadija (Sahih al-Bukhari).
Often misunderstood as
That the Quran confuses Mary with Miriam, Aaron’s sister, because it calls her “sister of Aaron” (19:28).
What the sources say
A man once raised this with the Prophet’s Companion al-Mughira ibn Shu’ba, who asked the Prophet and was told that the people of that time used to take names from the prophets and righteous people who came before them (Sahih Muslim). “Sister of Aaron” can mean one of his line or his kind, as the Arabic akh and ukht often do. The Quran also gives her father’s name as Imran, as the Bible gives Amram for Aaron’s father.