Women in the Quran are important characters and subjects of discussion in the stories and morals taught in Islam. Some of them are portrayed in a positive light, while others are condemned for their actions. Mary (Maryam – مريم) is the only woman mentioned in the Quran by name. The others' names come from different traditions. Most of the women in the Quran are represented as either the mothers or wives of leaders or prophets. They retained a certain amount of autonomy from men in some respects; for example, the Quran describes women who converted to Islam before their husbands or women who took an independent oath of allegiance to Muhammad.