The author of Blessed Virgin Mary is a Sufi master of Turkish descent named Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak, who passed away in 1985.  He is considered by Sufis as a Waliullah, or intimate friend of Allah (God).

The book is designed in a nonlinear fashion, ‘transcending the usual laws of logic and habitual experience which the Virgin Birth of the beloved Jesus also transcends’.  The book also reads, in essence, as a long prose-poem.  Sheikh Ozak intends for the reader to have a ‘mystical virgin birth’ within its receptive heart – ‘a miraculous birth or purity and illumination, comparable to the experience of the blessed Mary‘.

In his Foreword, Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak makes it clear that Christian readers may not agree with a few of his points.  He also, however, makes it known that the ‘Islamic and Christian lovers of the Virgin Mother of Jesus breathe different atmospheres’ but represent ‘two distinct global traditions’.  Through his book, Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak hopes that love will bring Christians and Muslims together.  He wants the reader to ‘achieve spiritual harmony and love for all humanity without exception, rather than to engage in religious debate or warfare’.

The Virgin Mary, after all, is the bridge between Christians and Muslims.  Look at Surrah 3, Verses 45-55 and Surrah 19, Verses 16-36 of the Qur’an.

Most non-Muslims don’t know that women have a very special place in Islam.  Check out this story:

A companion once asked the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): Who is the most important person for the soul in Islam?’  The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) replied: ‘The mother’.  The companion pressed the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for more information.  ‘Who is the next most important person?’  Once more, the Prophet Muhammad replied: ‘The mother’.  The companion repeated the question a third time.  He received the same answer.  Finally, on the fourth repetition of this question, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) resonded: ‘The father’.

A hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in addition, reads: ‘Paradise lies at the feet of the mothers’.  The Virgin Mary, moreover, according to Sheihk Muzaffer Ozak, holds an even higher position in Islam than Amina, the mother of the Prophet Muhammad because Mary appears prominently in the Qur’an.  These are just a few references  to highlight Islam’s reverence of women.

When you here non-Muslims claiming that Islam doesn’t respect or appreciate women, you can share Islam’s position towards the Virgin Mary.  You could also encourage them to read Blessed Virgin Mary.

Related articles

• Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) honored By US Supreme Court In 1935 (themuslimvoice.wordpress.com)
• Let us turn to the Virgin Mary with a thought for Lourdes. (fraternitysdm.wordpress.com)