What is the wisdom behind mentioning the name of Mary (peace be upon her) in Allah's question to Jesus (peace be upon him) about taking him and his mother as two gods besides Allah, knowing that it was not known for the Children of Israel to take Mary (peace be upon her) as a goddess?

The question arises from a mistaken concept of divinity in the Qur’an and Sunnah. One who denies the deification of Mary denies the light of the sun. However, this speaker does not understand the Qur’anic meaning of divinity, which led to this misconception.

It suffices for an answer to hear many Christians, when a calamity befalls them, call out: “O Virgin!” for rescue and aid. This, in the belief of Muslims, is taking her as a god. For the relief that can only come from Allah, it is not permissible to ask anyone else for it. Otherwise, the one asked would be a god to the asker, as Allah says: (Say, "Invoke those you claim besides Him, for they have no power to remove adversity from you nor to change it. Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His torment." Indeed, the torment of your Lord is ever dreaded.) [Qur’an 17:56-57]. Thus, every creature whom people have exalted above their human station and believed to possess the power to heal, bring relief, and grant forgiveness, has been taken as a god, even if the name (Allah) is not applied to them. As Allah says: (They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above what they associate with Him.) [Qur’an 9:31]. Their belief in them concerning the right to legislate made them lords.

The Qur’an also referred to whims as a god, as Allah says: (Have you seen he who has taken his god his [own] desire?) [Qur’an 25:43], because following it becomes as if it were the obeyed god. The Prophet, peace be upon him, referred to the worshipper of the dinar and the worshipper of the dirham, and servitude here means intense love in which the beloved is elevated to a degree of reverence and glorification that attaches hearts to them alongside Allah.

If the noble verse describes some Christians as having taken Mary as a "god," it does not necessarily mean that there must be a sect that literally says Mary is a "god." Rather, it is sufficient that they believe in her "divinity" in any of the aforementioned meanings.

History testifies to the deification of Mary by some Christian sects, among them the "Mariamites" who claim Mary is a god, as mentioned by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Sa'id ibn al-Batriq. Many of them ask her for everything that is asked of Allah, such as forgiveness and mercy, and they ask her for needs that are requested from Allah. Her worship was agreed upon in Eastern and Western Churches after Constantine.

This worship includes prayer, supplication, seeking aid, intercession, and fasting in her name, along with submission to her images, and believing in her unseen power to benefit and harm. Although they do not call her by the name (god) but rather (Mother of God), the Qur’an says: (They took her and her son as two gods) [Qur’an 5:116] and 'taking' is different from naming; it is confirmed by worship.

Father Zakaria Ibrahim mentioned that the Mariamites appeared in the fifth century AD and were pagans who worshipped Venus, so they considered Mary the goddess of women. Allah refuted them in His saying: (And [mention] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?'") [Qur’an 5:116].

The veneration of Mary came about at the First Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, where it stated: "We magnify you, O Mother of the true light, and we glorify you, O holy Virgin, Mother of God." Church directives include turning to and supplicating Mary and concluding the Lord's Prayer with the Marian prayer twenty times.

Pastor Haneen Abd al-Masih, in his book "The Heresy of Deifying the Virgin," attacked the Church for deifying Mary. He mentioned that the Church's rituals are full of prayers and supplications directed to the Virgin, as if she is a goddess who hears and responds, such as: "O Mother of God, you are the true vine... We ask you, O full of grace..." And the prayers include asking for help when the soul departs, and protection for the city, and that she is "our hope."

The Coptic Orthodox Church offers prostration to the Virgin, as they say: "I prostrate myself beneath your feet, O our Lady, all of us, O Mother of God." They dedicate a fast to the Virgin, and Copts offer vows to the Virgin seeking her aid. The Church addresses the Virgin with titles of Christ the God, such as "the trusted intercessor."