The Quran uses a reverent expression to describe Mary, who was chosen literally “over the women of the worlds.” This view of Mary brings to mind Luke 1:28, 30, and 42. Another story of the birth of ‘Īsā appears in Sūra 19, and several other individual verses comment on how Mary came to be pregnant (Q 21.91; cf. 66.12).

3.42 – when the angels said, “Mary! Surely God has chosen you . . . over all other women.”

The story of Mary’s encounter with angels, her pregnancy, and her question, “How shall I have a child?” (v. 47) bring to mind some of the details in the first chapter of the Gospel according to Luke. The story also seems to have an affirmative tone. The message of the angels here about the one to be born (vv. 42–46) is worth careful comparison to Gabriel’s words about the child in Luke 1:31–35.