Another area of common ground between historical Judaism, Christianity and Islam is the ways in which all three religions “of the Book” relate to water. All three share a sensitivity to the theological significance of water, and water has been present in many significant rituals belonging to each of these religions.

They all teach that water was one of the principal elements in the creation of the world. All three understood that both life and death come through water and that we are inextricably dependant upon God (or Allah) to provide water for us.

Water in Judaism

Within Judaism, water is present in many rituals, most notably the purifying ritual bath called the mikvah, which is prescribed for women seven days after menstruation. The waters used in the mikvah must come from a natural, free-flowing source and must not have been carried by human hands. Women immerse themselves in the Mikvah not only to become ritually pure, but also as way of being spiritually renewed and cleansed before they return to their husbands, following a period of about two weeks of abstinence.

Within Judaism, hands are ritually washed as part of preparation for the Shabbat, or “Sabbath” meal, which begins at sundown on Friday. Within Christianity, water plays an equally profound role. Christians are initiated into the faith by immersing themselves (or being sprinkled by) the waters of baptism, which also offer cleansing and renewal. Clergy in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican Churches ritually wash their hands before they consecrate the Eucharist.

Water in Islam

Within Islam, water is also of central importance — offering life, sustenance, and purification. According to the Koran, water existed before heaven or earth (this belief brings to mind the Genesis account where the Spirit of God hovers over the water at the creation of the world).

The Koran recognizes the essential value of water for life and the way our relationship to water reminds us of our utter dependence upon the mercy of God. According to the Koran, “He sends down saving rain, for them, when they have lost all hope and spreads abroad his mercy” (Al-Furqan 25:48).

Ritual Cleansing

Within Islam, water is not only considered a principal element of life but is also an essential aspect of ritual purity. Within observant Islam, the faithful pray at five appointed times daily. Each call to prayer begins with a ritual washing, as described in the Koran, “O you who believe, when you rise to pray, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbow, wipe your heads, and your feet to the ankle. If you are polluted cleanse yourselves … God does not wish to burden you but desires to purify you” (Al-Mai'dah 5:6).

Within Islam, a person who does not cleanse himself before prayer will have their prayers rejected. Like the Jewish prescription of a very specific natural source of water for the mikvah, Muslim teaching is specific about what water is acceptable for use in preprayer cleansing.

Because water holds such a significant place in all three religions, it is not surprising that within Islam, there is a connection between the Virgin Mary (or Miriam as she is referred to in the Koran) and water. According to the Koran, while Mary was in labor she took refuge under a palm tree and said, “Ah! Would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!” but a voice called to her from beneath the palm tree, “Do not anguish, for the Lord your God has created a rivulet beneath you, and shake toward yourself the trunk of the palm tree. It will let fall ripe dates upon you” (19:23–25).

This passage, which states that there will be a “rivulet” beneath her, is interesting in light of the role of water in stories about Mary. In another place in the Koran, it says that Jesus is born from the “waters of Mary.” This is an allusion to the central role of water in birth.

According to the Christian tradition, Mary was at a well when the angel appeared to her. Also notable is the fact that many Marian shrines around the world contain water or wells that many believe contain healing properties. Because Mary holds a special place within Islam, Muslims often visit Marian shrines and drink of the wells. This is especially the case at the House of Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, a site that is arguably more often visited by Muslims than Christians.