١٦. وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مَرْيَمَ إِذِ ٱنتَبَذَتْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا مَكَانًا شَرْقِيًّا
١٧. فَٱتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا فَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا
[16-17] And, O Muhammad, relate in this Book the story of Mary:13 how she had retired in seclusion from her people to the eastern side and had hung down a screen to hide herself from them.14 There We sent to her Our Spirit ("an angel") and he appeared before her in the form of a perfect man.
13For comparison, see Al-i-Imran (III): 34-57, and An-Nina (IV) :156 and E.N.'s thereof.
14The Sanctuary where she had retired for devotion was an eastern chamber in the Temple, and as was customary she had hung a curtain to conceal herself from the people. It cannot be Nazareth as some people have wrongly taken it to be, because Nazareth is to the north of Jerusalem.