Surah Maryam 19:16-40 - Quran Translation Commentary

17. Then she went into seclusion from them behind a screen. ²⁷ Then We sent to her Our spirit (angel), and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.

18. She said: “I seek refuge in the Gracious one from you, if you are God-fearing.” ²⁸

19. He said: “I am only a messenger of your Lord, that may bestow on you a holy son.”²⁹

20. She said: “How can I have a son when no mortal has touched me, neither have I been unchaste ?”³⁰

21. He said: “So it will be,³¹ Your Lord says: It is easy for Me, and (it will be so) that We may make of him a sign,³² for mankind and a Mercy³³ from Us, and it is an affair decreed.” ³⁴

22. And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place.³⁵

23. And the pangs of child birth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said :”Oh! Would that I had died ere this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten, nonexistent ! ”³⁶

24. Then (the angel) cried to her from below her: “Grieve not, your Lord has provided a rivulet beneath you.³⁷

25. “And shake the trunk of the palm - tree towards yourself, you will cause ripe dates to fall upon you.³⁸

26. ”So eat and drink and cool your eye.³⁹ And if you see any man, say: I have vowed a fast to Rahman and will not speak to any man today.”⁴⁰

27. Then she came to her people, carrying him. They said : “O Maryam ! You have come up with an amazing thing.⁴¹

28. ”O Sister of Harun!⁴² Your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste.” ⁴³

29. Then she pointed to him (child).⁴⁴ They said: “How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a baby.”⁴⁵

30. He (the child) spoke: “Verily, I am the slave of Allah.⁴⁶ He has given me the Book and has appointed me a prophet,

31. ”And has made me blessed wherever I may be,⁴⁷ and has enjoined upon me salat and zakat as long as I live;⁴⁸

32. ”And has made me dutiful to mother,⁴⁹ and has not made me insolent, unblest. “

33. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!”⁵⁰

34. Such is Eesa, son of Maryam, this is the word of truth about which people dispute.⁵¹

35. It does not befit Allah that he should beget a son.⁵² He is Immaculate. When He decides about a matter, He merely says ‘Be’ and it is.⁵³

36. And (Eesa had clearly said) “Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship only Him, that is the right path.”⁵⁴

37. But the sects differed among themselves;⁵⁵ so woe to the disbelievers from the meeting of a great day ! ⁵⁶

38. Clearly will they hear and see on the day they will come before Us ! ⁵⁷ But today the wrong-doers are in open error.

39. And warn them of the Day of Remorse, when the case is decided, ⁵⁸ and now they are in a state of negligence and they do not believe.

40. Verily We will inherit ⁵⁹ the earth and all who are thereon, and to Us they will be returned.

Commentary

25. The importance of such a mention in the Qur’an can be understood only when a comparative study of the Qur’an with the present day Bibles is undertaken, and when it is found that the important and significant links of this event are missing Qur’an has preserved all the important aspects of the chastity of Maryam and the birth of Prophet Eesa in such a way that the whole picture of the event comes before our eyes, and the truth of the narrative creates a feeling of belief. In the Gospel of Luke the chronicle of Maryam has been narrated with a little detail but in other Gospels it has been mentioned only casually.

26. As mentioned in Surah Aal-i-Imran, ayah No.35, Maryam’s mother had reserved her for worship, therefore, she had withdrawn herself into seclusion in a chamber in the eastern part of the Temple of Solomon in Baitul Maqdis. Since her place for worship was in the eastern part of the Temple, Christians declared eastern side as their Qibla, which was their own innovation.

27.In the eastern part where she had gone into seclusion, she had hung a curtain so that the people might not be able to see her and she might be able to pray undisturbed. It appears that the chamber in which she was praying was so constructed that it had no door, and by hanging a curtain privacy could be provided. Not having a door and having a curtain was beneficial in a way that her life became an open book. There was no chance for anyone to suspect her chastity.

28. Maryam’s getting frightened by seeing a stranger in her chamber was a natural thing, and her warning him of Allah’s punishment and her seeking of Allah’s refuge is the proof of her chastity and purity.

29. In the Gospel of Luke it is written “to a virgin betrothed to man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said ‘Hail, O favoured one the Lord is with you But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1; 27 to 31)

30. In the Injeel it is stated- “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How shall this be, since I have no husband ?” (Luke 1:34)

31. That is: Inspite of being a virgin, you will give birth to a son. This clarification of the Qur’an does not leave even the slightest shadow of doubt in this connection that the birth of Prophet Eesa had taken place of a virgin mother without having a father, and this was undoubtedly a miracle of Allah. As for the narrative of the Bible that Maryam was engaged to a man named Yusuf (Joseph) is merely a fiction which has been inserted in it. Maryam was exclusively reserved by her mother for worshipping and praying and that is why she had gone into seclusion in a part of the Temple of Solomon, and therefore, the question of her getting married to a man does not at all arise. Then in the Bible at one place one thing is written and at other place quite a different thing. In the Gospel of Mathew Yusuf is said to be the fiancé of Maryam (Mathew: Chapter 1 -16), while in the Gospel of Luke Yusuf is stated to be Maryam’s husband (Luke: 3 -23) If Yusuf was only a fiance of Maryam, then how could Prophet Eesa be his son ? And if the marriage had been solemnised, then what is the meaning of calling him a fiance ? And does not this thing create suspicion about a virgin girl ? A commentator of the Bible has also felt this contradiction in the narratives of the Bible, and therefore, he writes: “Furthermore, the genealogy here is not in agreement with Luke in 3: 23- 38. Actually the genealogy in Matt is that of Joseph, who is represented as Mary’s husband rather than as the actual father of Jesus (v 5.16) (The Interpreter’s Commentary on the Bible P.610 ) This contradictory narrative of the Bible creates suspicion about the pregnancy of Maryam despite her virginity. As against this the narrative of Qur’an is quite clear that Maryam was out and out reserved for worship and praying, and she had withdrawn herself from her own people and had gone into seclusion; she was a virgin, and no man had even touched her; and it was a miracle from Allah that in such a condition she became pregnant.

32. That is: The birth of Eesa might take place in a miraculous manner and it might be considered as a sign of Divine Might.

33. That is: The existence of Prophet Eesa would be a manifestation of His mercy; and innumerable people would receive guidance from him and would make themselves deserving of Divine mercy.

34. The decision has been taken by Allah and therefore what He has decided will definitely happen.

35. Refers to Bethlehem, which is at a distance of about nine miles from Jerusalem. In the Bible this place has been stated to be the birth place of Prophet Eesa.

36. Maryam did not complain to anybody, nor did she express impatience. She was worried about what would people think about her character being unaware of the true state of affairs. For a woman of impeccable chastity the imagination of such a consequence was most disturbing. In such a disturbed state these words passed through her lips: Would that I had died before this and would that people would have completely forgotten me! These were her innocent feelings which she expressed before her Lord only.

37. Allah had miraculously provided a rivulet beneath her, therefore, the angel cried from there to reassure her that when God is so favourably inclined towards her that for her convenience He has provided a rivulet especially for her, then she should not worry about anything; when God was with her, then how would the world harm her ? This was the special provision for comfort which was made for her to reassure her.

38. That is: To shake the trunk of the palm-tree slightly is sufficient to make it shed its ripe and fresh fruits for her benefit. Thus in a place where there was none to help Maryam, Allah provided the means for her food in such an extraordinary manner. On one side was Maryam’s trust and confidence in Allah and on the other side was Allah’s mercy for her!

39. That is: By seeing your child, cool your eyes, make yourself happy, that a very pure and grand personality has come into existence.

40. It appears that among the Bani Israil fasting for observing silence was observed and it was observed as a vow. Looking to the conditions which Maryam had to face, the direction to vow a fast to God not to speak to any person was a very wise one. It was not easy to convince the objectors. To inform them of the true state of affairs Allah bestowed speech on the child, as will be seen in the following ayat. The Arabic word used here is ‘Nazr’ (vow) which means to make a thing binding on oneself (Lissanul Arab, Vol. V. p. 200). As for the question that Maryam, being in postpartum menstrual condition, could not undertake worship in the form of observing the said fast. The answer to this objection is that it is not necessary that the postpartum menstruation may continue for one month or forty days. Some women have such a menstruation for even a shorter period. Accordingly the Islamic jurists have provided clarification. In the ‘Mughni’ it is stated- “There is no limit for the minimum period of postpartum menstruation. Whenever a woman may find herself without flow (clean), she should take bath (ghusl).” -Mughni- Vol. I. P. 347). It means that postpartum now can stop in one or half a day or there may not be any now at all.

41. When Maryam went to her people carrying her child in her arms, the people showered accusations at her, accusing her of unchaste conduct.

42. Maryam was from the family of Prophet Haroon (Aaron), that is why people called her as sister of Harun. She had no brother. There are examples of this kind in the Arabic language: To a man from the Hamdan tribe they call ‘Ya akha Hamdan’ (O brother of Hamdan) By calling her a sister of Prophet Harun, they tried to impress upon her that she belonged to a very respectable family, the family of a prophet, therefore, she could not be expected to be guilty of such a conduct. Generally the commentators have taken some person named Harun to be her brother and they think that it does not refer to Prophet Harun. Their argument comes from a narrative of Mugheerah bin Sho’ba wherein he has quoted the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, as saying that in a reply to the objection of the Christians of Najran that Prophet Harun had lived thousands of years prior to Maryam.-the Prophet had said that the Bani Israil used to name their children after prophets. This hadith has been narrated in Muslim and Tirmizi, etc., but it is not clear in the matter whether Maryam had a brother named Harun. Secondly one of the narrators of this hadith is Simak bin Harb, about whom the opinions of the narrators of the hadith are different. Some opine that he is reliable, while others call him weak. Sufyan and Sho’ba consider him weak, and Imam Ahmed says that he is vague and his narration is complicated. (Mizanul E’tidal, Vol. II, p. 232-233) Ibn Habban says that he is reliable but commits many errors (Tahzeebut Tahzeeb, Vol. II, pag. 234)

43. It is an acknowledgement of the fact that Maryam belonged to a very respectable family.

44. Maryam had vowed to observe fast for keeping silent on the direction from Allah, and therefore, she pointed towards the child implying that they should talk to him.

45. That is: How can we talk to the child who is still in the cradle.

46. The speaking of a new-born baby was a miracle from Allah. This miracle was caused to be manifested by Allah so that the chastity of virgin Maryam be proved and she should not be compelled to say anything in her own defence. It was also a sign of the prophethood of Eesa. His declaration in the cradle that he was a slave of Allah is the manifestation of the reality that his position is that of a slave and not of anything else. It was an advance refutation of his being considered son of God. By the Book is meant the Injeel. Giving him the Book and appointing him prophet does not mean that the Book was given in the cradle and he was appointed prophet in childhood. These blessings were bestowed on him when he became able to shoulder these responsibilities. But since this was the decision of Allah, it had to come to pass inevitably. For this reason the child was made to declare as if these blessings have already been bestowed. This style of expression shows the certainty of the event that is going to occur. This miracle is not mentioned in the present day Bibles. The reason is the manner of their compilation. The Jews who were the actual witnesses of this event became the enemy of Prophet Eesa after his having been blessed with prophethood, and those who became his followers had to undergo very hard trials and tribulations. Therefore in these difficult times a large portion of the chronicles of Prophet Eesa’s biographical data and his teachings could not be preserved. But the reasonableness and the truth of the Quranic statement is quite clear, for the Jews’ accusing Maryam of misconduct and letting her off without punishing her when in their Shariah the punishment for illegal sex was very harsh shows that some very extraordinary event must have taken place, which had convincingly proved the chastity of the virgin. Qur’an states that this was the evidence of an infant which proved that it was an extraordinary event (miracle). After this, there was no chance for anyone to say anything.

47. That is: Allah has made me an epitome of goodness, wherever I would stay, it would be a means of good and blessing. It was the negation of the point that neither his birth was the result of evil nor in future any evil will be committed by him. This is an advance refutation of the accusations which the Jews would level against him in coming years.

48.The mention of salat (prayer) and zakat (compulsory charity) has been specifically made, because they are the foundation pillars of the religions, neglecting them is to neglect religion. The Jews had neglected them. That is why Prophet Eesa mentioned them the moment he was able to speak.

49. Here his being dutiful to his mother is mentioned which proves that he was born without a father, otherwise he would have said that he was made dutiful to his parents. This statement of the Qur’an refutes those narratives of the Bible which give an impression that had become careless of his mother (John 2- 4)

50. That is: There is peace for me from God for the duration of this whole life and in the next life also there is peace for me. The words ‘the day I die’ show that one day Prophet Eesa has also to die like any other mortal.

51. The Jews do not at all accept Eesa as Prophet, and the Christians have exceeded in their adoration of Jesus to such an extent that they made him son of God; and they entangled themselves in this dispute in such a way that the main reality was totally ignored. But Qur’an removed all the layers and brought into light the main reality.

52. It is a degrading thing for God that He should make anyone his son. It is a defect, and not an achievement, and ascribing such a relation to Allah is to say that He is not free of defects and shortcoming.

53. The majesty of whose might is that by His merely saying ‘Be’! the thing desired comes into existence, then how can He be in need of having or begetting a son. Dawatul Qur’an 349 S.19 And (Eesa had clearly said) “Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship only Him, that is the right path.”But the sects differed among themselves; so woe to the disbelievers from the meeting of a great day ! (Al-Quran)

54.The words of Prophet Eesa which he spoke in the cradle have gone before. Here is presented that message of his which he conveyed to Bani Israil after being blessed with prophethood. For explanation, see Surah Aal-i-Imran, ayah No.76.

55. When any new belief is added in the Divine ‘religion, differences inevitably develop, as a result of which different sects come into existence. When the Christians differed from the teachings of Prophet Eesa, and invented exaggerated beliefs about his personality, then sectarianism was born in Christendom, and Jacobeans and Nestorian sects came into existence. In later periods Catholic and Protestant sects were formed. In this way they drifted away from their center of monotheism and their community was also vivisected.

56. Means the destruction of the Doomsday.

57. That is: On the Day of Resurrection they will know whether Prophet Eesa was a slave of God or His son.

58. Warn them of the Day of Resurrection which will be a day of remorse for the disbelievers. Some commentators have taken it to mean that day when the Muslims conquered Baitul Maqdis, and it became a day of remorse for the Christians (Tarjumanul Qur’an, Vol II p.436) But the wording of the ayah does not conform to this interpretation. The statement of the final decision in the Qur’an is about the Day of Resurrection only, and in the next ayah it is mentioned that everyone will have to return to Him clearly shows that it refers to the Day of Resurrection.

59. For explanation, see Surah Hijr, Note No.21