https://islamicstudies.info/reference.php?sura=5&verse=116-120

Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 5 Al-Ma’idah, Ayat 116-120

وَاِذۡ قَالَ اللّٰهُ يٰعِيۡسَى ابۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ ءَاَنۡتَ قُلۡتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُوۡنِىۡ وَاُمِّىَ اِلٰهَيۡنِ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ​ؕ قَالَ سُبۡحٰنَكَ مَا يَكُوۡنُ لِىۡۤ اَنۡ اَقُوۡلَ مَا لَـيۡسَ لِىۡ بِحَقٍّ​ؕ اِنۡ كُنۡتُ قُلۡتُهٗ فَقَدۡ عَلِمۡتَهٗ​ؕ تَعۡلَمُ مَا فِىۡ نَفۡسِىۡ وَلَاۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا فِىۡ نَفۡسِكَ​ؕ اِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ عَلَّامُ الۡغُيُوۡبِ‏ ﴿5:116﴾ مَا قُلۡتُ لَهُمۡ اِلَّا مَاۤ اَمَرۡتَنِىۡ بِهٖۤ اَنِ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰهَ رَبِّىۡ وَرَبَّكُمۡ​ۚ وَكُنۡتُ عَلَيۡهِمۡ شَهِيۡدًا مَّا دُمۡتُ فِيۡهِمۡ​ۚ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيۡتَنِىۡ كُنۡتَ اَنۡتَ الرَّقِيۡبَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ​ؕ وَاَنۡتَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ شَهِيۡدٌ‏ ﴿5:117﴾ اِنۡ تُعَذِّبۡهُمۡ فَاِنَّهُمۡ عِبَادُكَ​ۚ وَاِنۡ تَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ فَاِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِيۡزُ الۡحَكِيۡمُ‏ ﴿5:118﴾ قَالَ اللّٰهُ هٰذَا يَوۡمُ يَـنۡفَعُ الصّٰدِقِيۡنَ صِدۡقُهُمۡ​ؕ لَهُمۡ جَنّٰتٌ تَجۡرِىۡ مِنۡ تَحۡتِهَا الۡاَنۡهٰرُ خٰلِدِيۡنَ فِيۡهَاۤ اَبَدًا​ ؕ رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَنۡهُمۡ وَرَضُوۡا عَنۡهُ​ ؕ ذٰ لِكَ الۡـفَوۡزُ الۡعَظِيۡمُ‏ ﴿5:119﴾ لِلّٰهِ مُلۡكُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ وَمَا فِيۡهِنَّ​ ؕ وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدِيۡرٌ‏ ﴿5:120﴾

(5:116) And imagine when thereafter Allah will say: ‘Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people: “Take me and my mother for gods beside Allah?”¹³⁰ and he will answer: “Glory to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to. Had I said so, You would surely have known it. You know all what is within my mind whereas I do not know what is within Yours. You, indeed You, know fully all that is beyond the reach of human perception. (5:117) I said to them nothing except what You commanded me, that is: ‘Serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ I watched over them as long as I remained among them; and when You did recall me, then You Yourself became the Watcher over them. Indeed, You are Witness over everything. (5:118) If You chastise them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”‘ (5:119) Thereupon Allah will say: ‘This day truthfulness shall profit the truthful. For them are Gardens beneath which rivers flow. There they will abide for ever. Allah is well- pleased with them, and they well-pleased with Allah. That indeed is the mighty triumph.’ (5:120) To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them and He has full power over everything. 

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Notes

130. The Christians were not content merely with deifying Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They even turned Mary, the mother of Jesus, into a full-fledged object of worship. The Bible does not contain even the remotest suggestion that Mary was in any way either divine or superhuman. During the first three centuries after the Messiah, such a concept was totally alien to Christian thinking. Towards the end of the third century of the Christian era, however, some theologians of Alexandria employed, for the first time, the expression ‘Mother of God’ in connection with Mary. Subsequently, belief in Mary’s divinity and the practice of Mariolatry began to spread among Christians. Even then, however, the Church was not prepared to accord official approval to this belief and denounced the Mariolaters as heretics. It was not until the Council of Ephesus in 431 that the Church officially used the expression ‘Mother of God’ for Mary. The result was that Mariolatry began to spread fast within the Church itself, so much so that, by the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, Mary had become so important a deity that she obscured even the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Statues of Mary adorned the cathedrals. She became the object of rites and worship. People addressed their prayers to her. She was regarded as the one who responded to people’s supplications, who heeded people’s grievances and complaints, who relieved them in distress, who provided support and succour to the helpless. For a devout Christian there could be no greater source of comfort and inner strength than the belief that he enjoyed the support and patronage of the ‘Mother of God’. In the preamble of his code, Justinian had declared Mary to be the defender and supporter of his empire, and his general, Marses, sought Mary’s guidance on the battlefield. Heraclius, a contemporary of the Prophet (peace be on him), had a picture of Mary on his standard and he was confident that by her grace the standard would never be lowered. Several centuries later the Protestants argued strongly against Mariolatry during the movement which led to the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church has, nevertheless, managed so far to cling to Mariolatry in one form or another.

Data pulled by AI GROK:

Yes, the statement appears to be accurate based on biblical accounts and historical records of early Christian thought.

Early Christian Perspective (First Three Centuries AD)

The Bible portrays Mary as a faithful, devout Jewish woman chosen by God for the role of bearing Jesus through a miraculous virgin conception (e.g., Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25). She is depicted as human, experiencing normal emotions like pondering events in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51), expressing concern at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-5), and standing at the cross in grief (John 19:25-27). There are no passages attributing divinity, superhuman status, or any form of god-like qualities to her—such as omnipotence, omniscience, or eternity. Interpretations of symbolic figures like the “woman clothed with the sun” in Revelation 12:1-6 sometimes reference Mary (among other possibilities like the Church or Israel), but even these do not imply she is divine or beyond human nature. 8 Sources emphasizing a literal reading confirm she is presented as an ordinary human elevated by God’s grace, not inherent superiority. 0 1

Biblical Perspective

Historical evidence from the Apostolic Fathers, early Church writings (e.g., Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus), and artifacts indicates that Mary was respected as Jesus’ mother and a model of faith, but without attributions of divinity or superhuman essence. First-century texts like the New Testament epistles barely mention her beyond her maternal role, showing little emphasis on her person. 10 By the second and third centuries, apocryphal works like the Protoevangelium of James (c. 150 AD) expanded on her life, portraying her as a consecrated virgin with exceptional purity, and early prayers like the Sub Tuum Praesidium (c. 250-300 AD) sought her intercession for protection—indicating growing veneration and a belief in her heavenly role. 12 15 However, these do not equate to divinity (worship reserved for God) or superhuman status beyond human capabilities; she was seen as holy and exalted by association with Christ, not inherently divine. 11 Doctrines like perpetual virginity emerged in this period (e.g., via Origen), but even these framed her as a human exemplar of virtue, not superhuman. 16 18 The title “Theotokos” (Mother of God) began appearing informally to affirm Jesus’ divinity, not Mary’s. 17 Formal elevations in Marian theology, such as sinlessness or queenly status, developed later (fourth century onward) amid councils like Ephesus (431 AD). Thus, the idea of Mary as divine or superhuman was indeed absent or alien in mainstream early Christian thinking.