Mariolatry (Marianism) in the Qur'an: A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Western Scholarship

In the reflection of the Christian beliefs about Mary in the verses of the Qur'an, the concept of "Mariolatry" mentioned in verse Mᾱ'idah: 116 and some other verses is one of the challenging concepts that, especially in terms of knowing its audience, so far, many efforts have been made. In this article, we try to investigate these views and find a way out of its interpretation challenge. The main question in this research is: "How is the concept of Mariolatry reflected in the Qur'an and how has it been understood by Muslim commentators and Western Qur'an scholars so far?" "How should the Quranic verses related to this interpretation be read to solve the existing challenges regarding it?" Findings show that both groups of commentators have diversely interpreted the above concept so that their total views fluctuate from distorting the Quranic verses to linguistic and historical approaches. Meanwhile, examining the context of the verses of the Qur'an and some surviving documents from the late ancient period, as well as paying attention to some of the disadvantages of the historical approach, show that the reading of this belief based on the language and rhetorical creativity of the Qur'an is more justified and logical.