AL IMRAN 36-40

فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَضَعْتُهَا أُنثَى وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالأُنثَى وَإِنِّي سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وِإِنِّي أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ {36}

[Yusufali 3:36] When she was delivered, she said: "O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!"- and Allah knew best what she brought forth- "And no wise is the male Like the female. I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected."




فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقاً قَالَ يَا مَرْيَمُ أَنَّى لَكِ هَـذَا قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ إنَّ اللّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ {37}

[Yusufali 3:37] Right graciously did her Lord accept her: He made her grow in purity and beauty: To the care of Zakariya was she assigned. Every time that he entered (Her) chamber to see her, He found her supplied with sustenance. He said: "O Mary! Whence (comes) this to you?" She said: "From Allah: for Allah Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure."




هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِن لَّدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاء {38}

[Yusufali 3:38] There did Zakariya pray to his Lord, saying: "O my Lord! Grant unto me from Thee a progeny that is pure: for Thou art He that heareth prayer!




فَنَادَتْهُ الْمَلآئِكَةُ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ يُصَلِّي فِي الْمِحْرَابِ أَنَّ اللّهَ يُبَشِّرُكَ بِيَحْيَـى مُصَدِّقًا بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَسَيِّدًا وَحَصُورًا وَنَبِيًّا مِّنَ الصَّالِحِينَ {39}

[Yusufali 3:39] While he was standing in prayer in the chamber, the angels called unto him: "Allah doth give thee glad tidings of Yahya, witnessing the truth of a Word from Allah, and (be besides) noble, chaste, and a prophet,- of the (goodly) company of the righteous."




قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىَ يَكُونُ لِي غُلاَمٌ وَقَدْ بَلَغَنِيَ الْكِبَرُ وَامْرَأَتِي عَاقِرٌ قَالَ كَذَلِكَ اللّهُ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاء {40}

[Yusufali 3:40] He said: "O my Lord! How shall I have son, seeing I am very old, and my wife is barren?" "Thus," was the answer, "Doth Allah accomplish what He willeth."

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TAFSEER AL JALALAYN

36
And when she gave birth to her, a girl, and she had been hoping for a boy, since only males were consecrated to the service of God, she said, apologetically, 'O, Lord, I have given birth to a female' - and God knew very well what she had given birth to: a parenthetical statement constituting God's speech (a variant reading [for wada'at, 'she gave birth', has wada'tu, 'I gave birth' [making these Hanna's words, sc. 'and God knows very well what I have given birth to']); the male, that she had asked for, is not as the female, that was bestowed upon her, because he is designed for the service [of God], while she would not be suitable on account of her lesser physical ability, her private parts, the effects of menstruation on her, and so on. 'And I have named her Mary, and commend her to You with her seed, her children, to protect them from the accursed, the outcast, Satan'. In a hadīth [it is stated]: 'Every new-born is touched by Satan and begins [life] by crying, except for Mary and her son', as reported by the two Shaykhs [Bukhārī and Muslim].




37
Her Lord accepted the child, that is, He received Mary from her mother, with gracious acceptance, and made her grow excellently, He made her grow up with excellent character. She would grow in a day by as much as a new-born grew during a year. Her mother took her to the priests, the keepers of the Holy House [of Jerusalem] and said: 'This here before you is the dedication [I offered]'. They competed for [guardianship of] her, because she was the daughter of their religious leader, at which point Zachariah said, 'I am most worthy of her, for, her maternal aunt lives with me'. The others said, 'No, [not until] we have cast lots'. Thus, all twenty nine of them departed to the River Jordan, where they cast their quills, agreeing that the one whose quill remained fast and floated to the surface of the water would be most worthy of [being guardian over] her. Zachariah's quill remained fast [and surfaced]. He took [charge of] her and built for her a gallery-room with a ladder in the temple, and none apart from him went up to her. He used to bring her food, drink and oil, and would find her with summer fruits in winter, and winter fruits in summer, just as God says, and Zachariah took charge of her, he took her to him (a variant reading [of kafalahā, 'he took charge of her'] is kaffalahā, 'He [God] gave Zachariah charge of her', with Zakariyyā', or Zakariyyā, in the accusative and 'God' as the subject of the verb). Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary, that is, the room, the most noble seat [in the temple], where she was, he found her with provisions. 'O Mary,' he said, 'Whence comes this to you?' She, still very young, said, 'From God, He sends it to me from Paradise, 'Truly God provides, abundant provision, for whomever He will without reckoning, without consequence.

38
Then, when Zachariah had seen this and realised that the One with power to bring something about in other than its [natural] time, is able to bring about a child in old age, and with those of his family line all deceased, Zachariah prayed to his Lord, when he entered the sanctuary to pray in the middle of the night, saying, 'Lord, bestow upon me from You a goodly offspring, a righteous son, verily, You are the Hearer of, [You are] the One Who answers, supplication'.

39
And the angels, namely, Gabriel, called to him, standing in the sanctuary, in the temple, at worship that (anna, means bi-anna; a variant reading has inna, implying a direct speech statement) 'God gives you good tidings (read yubashshiruka, or yubshiruka) of John, who shall confirm a Word, being, from God, namely, Jesus, that he is God's Spirit; he is referred to as [God's] 'Word', because he was created through the word kun, 'Be'; a lord, with a following, and one chaste, forbidden from women, and a prophet of the righteous': it is said that he never sinned and never so intended.

40
He said, 'My Lord! How shall I have a boy, a son, when old age has overtaken me, that is, [after] I have reached extreme [old] age, 120 years [old]; and my wife is barren?', having reached the age of 98. He said, 'So it, the matter, will be', with God creating a boy from both of you. 'God does what He will', nothing can prevent Him therefrom, and in order to manifest this great power he was inspired with the question so that he would be answered through it [this great power]. And when his soul longed for the swift fulfilment of that of which good tidings had been given: