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Cf. the identical phrase in verse {9} above, relating to the announcement of John's birth to Zachariah. In both these cases, the implication is that God can and does bring about events which may be utterly unexpected or even inconceivable before they materialize. In connection with the announcement of a son to Mary, the Qur'an states in {3 :47} that "when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be' - and it is": but since neither the Qur'an nor any authentic Tradition tells us anything about the chain of causes and effects (asbab) which God's decree "Be" was to bring into being, all speculation as to the "how" of this event must remain beyond the scope of a Qur'an-commentary. (But see also note [87] on {21: 91}.)
One of the several meanings of the term ayah is "a sign" or, as elaborately defined by Raghib, "a symbol" (cf. surah {17}, note [2]). However, the sense in which it is most frequently used in the Qur'an is "a [divine] message": hence, its metonymic application to Jesus may mean that he was destined to become a vehicle of God's message to man - i.e., a prophet - and, thus, a symbol of God's grace. - As regards the words "thou shalt have a son" interpolated by me between brackets, a statement to this effect is implied in the subsequent phrase beginning with "so that" (Zamakhshari and Razi).
The mission of Jesus is announced in two ways (1) he was to be a Sign to men; his wonderful birth and wonderful life were to turn an ungodly world back to Allah; and (2) his mission was similar to that of all prophets of Allah. But the point here is that the Israelites, to whom Jesus was sent, were a hardened race, for whom the message of Jesus was truly a gospel of Mercy.
For anything that Allah wishes to create, He says "Be", and it is (Cf. iii. 47). There is no interval between His decree and its accomplishment, except such as He imposes by His decree. Time may be only a projection of our own minds in this world of relativity.
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The annunciation and the conception, we may suppose, took place in Nazareth (of Galilee), say 65 miles north of Jerusalem. The delivery took place in Bethlehem about 6 miles south of Jerusalem. It was a remote place, not only with reference to the distance of 71 miles, but because in Bethlehem itself the birth was in an obscure corner under a palm-tree, from which perhaps the babe was afterwards removed to a manger in a stable.
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I.e., compelling her to cling to it for support: thus stressing the natural, normal circumstances of this childbirth, attended - as is the case with all women - by severe labour pains.
She was but human, and suffered the pangs of an expectant mother, with no one to attend on her. The circumstances being peculiar, she had got far away from her people.
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Or: "from beneath her". However, Qatadah (as quoted by Zamakhshari) interprets this as meaning "from beneath the palm-tree".
This was the voice of baby Jesus. Some say it was Gabriel.
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Unseen Providence had seen that she should not suffer from thirst or from hunger. The rivulet provided her with water also for ablutions.
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Lit., "say" - but since actual speech would contradict what follows, the "saying" implies here a communication by gestures.
In its primary sense, the term sawm denotes "abstinence" or "self-denial"; in the present context it is synonymous with samt ("abstinence from speech"); in fact-as pointed out by Zamakhshari - the latter term is said to have figured in the Qur'an-copy belonging to 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud (possibly as a marginal, explanatory notation).
lit., fast ˹from speech˺. Linguistically, ṣawm means to abstain from something, such as food, speaking, and playing.
Cool thine eye: An idiom for "comfort thyself and be glad". The literal meaning should not, however, be lost sight of. She was to cool her eyes (perhaps full of tears) with the fresh water of the rivulet and take comfort that a remarkable babe had been born to her. She was also to look around, and if any one came near, she was to decline all conversation. It was quite true: she was under a vow, and could not talk to any one.
She was to decline all conversation with man or woman, on the plea of a vow to Allah. The "fast" here does not mean abstinence literally from eating and drinking. She has just been advised to eat the dates and drink of the stream. It means abstinence from the ordinary household meals, and indeed from human intercourse generally.
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Lit., "she came with him to her people, carrying him".
The amazement of the people knew no bounds. In any case they were ready to think the worst of her, as she had disappeared from her kin for some time. But now she comes, shamelessly parading a babe in her arms! How she had disgraced the house of Aaron, the fountain of priesthood! We may suppose that the scene took place in the Temple in Jerusalem, or in Nazareth.
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In ancient Semitic usage, a person's name was often linked with that of a renowned ancestor or founder of the tribal line. Thus, for instance, a man of the tribe of Banu Tamim was sometimes addressed as "son of Tamim" or "brother of Tamim". Since Mary belonged to the priestly caste, and hence descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses, she was called a "sister of Aaron" (in the same way as her cousin Elisabeth. the wife of Zachariah, is spoken of in Luke i, 5, as one "of the daughters of Aaron").
i.e., his twin in virtue. They meant that they did not expect her to do something like that because they held her in high esteem like Aaron, Moses’ brother (perhaps because she was his descendant).
Aaron the brother of Moses was the first in the line of Israelite priesthood. Mary and her cousin Elisabeth (mother of Yahya) came of a priestly family, and were therefore, "sisters of Aaron" or daughters of 'Imran (who was Aaron's father). See n. 375 to iii. 35. Mary is reminded of her high lineage and the unexceptionable morals of her father and mother. How, they said, she had fallen, and disgraced the name of her progenitors!
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What could Mary do? How could she explain? Would they, in their censorious mood, accept her explanation? All she could do was to point to the child, who, she knew, was no ordinary child. And the child came to her rescue. By a miracle he spoke, defended his mother, and preached-to an unbelieving audience. See iii. 46, and n. 388.
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Although the Qur'an mentions in 3:46 that Jesus would "speak unto men [while yet] in his cradle" - i.e., would be imbued with wisdom from his early childhood - verses {30-33} seem to be in the nature of a trope, projecting the shape of things to come by using, for the sake of emphasis, the past tense to describe something that was to become real in the future. (See also next note.)
Since it is not conceivable that anyone could be granted divine revelation and made a prophet before attaining to full maturity of intellect and experience, 'Ikrimah and Ad-Dahhak - as quoted by Tabari - interpret this passage as meaning, "God has decreed (qada) that He would vouchsafe unto me revelation...", etc., thus regarding it as an allusion to the future. Tabari himself applies the same interpretation to the next verse, explaining it thus: "He has decreed that He would enjoin upon me prayer and charity". However, the whole of this passage (verses {30-33}) may also be understood as having been uttered by Jesus at a much later time - namely, after he had reached maturity and been actually entrusted with his prophetic mission: that is to say, it may be understood as an anticipatory description of the ethical and moral principles which were to dominate the adult life of Jesus and particularly his deep consciousness of being only "a servant of God".
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There is a parallelism throughout the accounts of Jesus and Yahya, with some variations. Both the parallelisms and the variations are interesting. For instance Jesus declares at the very outset that he is a servant of Allah, thus negativing the false notion that he was Allah or the son of Allah. The greatness of Yahya is described in xix. 12-13 in terms that are not applied to Jesus, but the verses xix. 14-15 as applied to Yahya are in almost identical terms with those applied to Jesus here (xix. 32-33). Devotion in Prayer and Charity is a good description of Christ at its best, and pity, purity, and devotion in Yahya are a good description of the ways leading to Prayer and Charity, just as John led to Jesus.
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Overbearing violence is not only unjust and harmful to those on whom it is practised; it is perhaps even more harmful to the person who practises it, for his soul becomes turbid, unsettled, and ultimately unhappy and wretched,-the state of those in Hell. Here the negative qualities are "not overbearing or miserable." As applied to John they were "not overbearing or rebellious." John bore his punishment from the State without any protest or drawing back.
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Cf. xix. 15, and n. 2469. Christ was not crucified (iv. 157).
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Lit., "about whom they are in doubt", or "about whom they [vainly] dispute": an allusion to the many conflicting views about the nature of Jesus and his origins, ranging from the blasphemous Jewish assertion that he was a "false prophet" and the product of a shameful, illicit union (cf. 4:156 ), to the Christian belief that he was "the son of God" and, therefore, God incarnate. In this connection, see also 3:59 and the corresponding note [47].
The disputations about the nature of Jesus Christ were vain, but also persistent and sanguinary. The modern Christian churches have thrown them into the background, but they would do well to abandon irrational dogmas altogether.
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See note [96] on {2: 116}.
Begetting a son is a physical act depending on the needs of men's animal nature. Allah Most High is independent of all needs, and it is derogatory to Him to attribute such an act to Him. It is merely a relic of pagan and anthropomorphic materialist superstitions.
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