Who spoke, and who listened
God hears. In Arabic, Allah is as-Samīʿ, the All-Hearing, one of His 99 Names. That is one of the first things these stories say about Him. A boy cries in the desert and God hears. A woman runs away and God sees her. A girl watches a basket in the reeds, and a family is brought back together.
In each case a woman is at the centre. Often she is the one who speaks to God, or the one to whom He speaks. This set of pages follows six of them: Sarah, Hagar, Miriam, Asiya, Mary (peace be upon her) and Khadijah. Most appear in more than one faith, told differently each time. One, Khadijah, belongs to Islam alone.
And she called the name of the LORD that spoke unto her, Thou art a God of seeing; for she said: 'Have I even here seen Him that seeth Me?'
Genesis 16:13 · JPS 1917
Three women, three prayers
A woman speaks to God
And she called the name of the LORD that spoke unto her, Thou art a God of seeing; for she said: 'Have I even here seen Him that seeth Me?'
Genesis 16:13 · JPS 1917My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour, for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
Luke 1:46–48 · WEBMy Lord! Build for me a home with thee in the Garden, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver me from evil-doing folk;
Qur'an 66:11 · PickthallThe first is Hagar, in the Hebrew Bible. The second is Mary, in Luke's Gospel. The third is the wife of Pharaoh, in the Qur'an, whom Muslim tradition names Asiya.
The four pages
- Sarah and Hagar. The two mothers in the family of Abraham (peace be upon him), and the spring in the valley of Makkah (Mecca).
- Miriam and Asiya. The sister who watched the river, and the woman in Pharaoh's household who took the baby in.
- Mary. A short page, pointing to our full pages on Mary and her story.
- Khadijah. The first person to believe, in Islamic tradition, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him)'s wife for twenty-five years.
You may also like Women who spoke to God, which meets Hannah, Deborah, Rabia and Julian of Norwich, and the prophets' pages for Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
How the three faiths differ here
The faiths do not tell the same list of women, and the lists are not the same length.
Honest differences
- The Hebrew Bible names many women. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah are the matriarchs, and Miriam, Deborah and Hannah are among its great voices. Christians read the same scriptures and add Mary, Elizabeth and the women of the Gospels.
- The Qur'an names only one woman: Mary. It speaks of others without naming them, including Abraham's wife, the mother and sister of Moses (peace be upon him), and Pharaoh's wife. Names such as Sarah, Hagar and Asiya come from the Prophet's ﷺ teaching and from Muslim tradition.
- Judaism gives Mary no religious role, as Christians and Muslims do. Muslim tradition has Khadijah, and Judaism and Christianity do not.
- The stories overlap but are not identical. In the Torah it is Pharaoh's daughter who finds Moses. In the Qur'an Pharaoh's household take him up, and Pharaoh's wife pleads for his life. We say so on the page and do not merge them.
- Sources of different ages sit together here. Scripture comes first, then later tradition. We mark which is which.
If you are talking about this with a neighbour
What to say and bring
- Ask a question rather than make a statement: "Who is the woman you were named after?" opens more than "In my faith, we say..."
- Names help. Sara, Hajar, Maryam, Miriam, Asiya and Khadija are all names that are given to girls today in Jewish, Christian and Muslim families.
- Muslims often say "may Allah be pleased with her" after the name of a woman they honour, and "peace be upon her" after Mary. You can say the name plainly.
- A pot of tea works in every tradition.