A religious personality recently mentioned in a television show that the Quran mentions the name of Hazrat Maryam only amongst ladies, giving a tacit message that it’s not a desirable thing to mention the names of ladies. What’s your take on it?
Answer
The fact that Hazrat Maryam’s name is mentioned in the Quran and so is the name of Queen Saba negates the understanding of this religious personality. There were hundreds and thousands of companions of the prophet alaihissalam. Only Hazrat Zaid’s name is mentioned in the Quran? Should we derive some conclusion from that too? The mention of a name or the lack of it in the Quran doesn’t mean much except for the direct message the relevant verses carry. The fact is that the book of Allah mentions unsuccessful seduction attempt of women on Hazrat Yusuf(12:23-24 & 31); it mentions that the prophet alaihissalam couldn’t marry any lady beyond the list of categories already mentioned for him even if he liked their beauty (33:52); it also refers to husband-wife relationship leading to childbirth (7:189) etc. The taste of exaggerated shyness (haya) in mentioning names of ladies suggested by the the gentleman you have referred to isn’t reflected in the Quran. By the way, when the companions of the prophet used to mention Hazrat Ayesha etc, were they being less careful than the desired standard suggested by this gentleman?