Why is the awaited Messiah called “son of Mary”?

The name has two reasons. It makes clear that the promise of the return of Jesus (as) is also fulfilled in the one who comes, and spiritually it describes a believer who is as pure and humble as Mary, so that God breathes His Spirit into him. It means neither a blood relative nor the same person.

Jesus (as) had foretold that he would come again, and Christians are still waiting for him. When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) spoke of a Messiah to come, it had to be clear that this promise was meant as well. Had he only spoken of a Messiah, people could have thought of two separate prophecies. By using the full name “son of Mary”, he joined the two. The one who comes fulfils the hope of the Christians too.

This does not mean that the same man returns after two thousand years, nor that a descendant of his appears. The hadith above calls the one who comes an Imam from among the Muslims. So the name describes a task and a character, not a family line.

There is also a deeper meaning. In the verses above, the Holy Qur’an compares all believers to two women, the wife of Pharaoh and Mary. Mary guarded her purity, and God breathed of His Spirit. It is striking that at this point the verse does not say “into her” but “into him”. It looks towards a believer who resembles Mary.

Such a believer lives as purely and humbly as Mary. He seeks no rank and no title, and he keeps his desires in check. When God breathes of His Spirit into such a person, a “son of Mary” is born in him, not physically but spiritually. In this beautiful way the name describes how the awaited Messiah rises from within the community of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) itself.