by Dr. Shabir Ally | Watch Dr. Shabir's video response here
The simple answer is no. Let me explain. Immaculate conception is a Catholic concept that has to do with original sin. Immaculate conception is the idea that Mary was conceived in such a way that she was born without the stain of the original sin. So why would this be necessary?
Think of a cookie cutter. If you have a perfectly shaped cookie cutter, your cookies are going to come out perfectly shaped. But if your cookie cutter is bent, then your cookies are going to come out misshapen.
Original sin is passed on all the way from Adam. With Adam's sin, the human mold somehow became misshapen or came to carry the indentation from the original sin. So all human beings are born with that mark of the original sin.
This introduces a problem. If Jesus is going to die for the sins of the world, which most Christians believe, then he Himself had to be free of original sin. But then if he is basically a carbon copy of his mother, then his mother has to be freed of original sin too. So the idea is that Mary was conceived immaculately, which means in such a way that she did not receive the stain of the original sin.
In Islam, there is no such thing as an original sin. There is original forgiveness. God forgave Adam and Eve for what they had done. And each child is automatically born free of any stain of original sin. And if we commit sin, we ask God for forgiveness, and He forgives us.
Having said that, there was a Quranic story about Mary's mother pledging that whatever is in her womb is going to be dedicated to the service of God. And there was a Hadith that says that every child is touched by Satan except for Mary and her child. So there is something there in the Islamic tradition about Mary and Jesus, but it doesn’t go as far as to say that she was conceived immaculately.
