Tafseer Maryam Day 11 Ayat 27-31

previously Sheikh talked of a sister who had studied comparative religion formally
he asked her if the Christian scripture speak about oath of silence like the one Maryam had taken
at first she said there is no mention of this in Christian texts and that when we do comparative study between the Muslim versus Christian narrative, something sticks out
while Bible mentions that Maryam is a virgin, it glosses over all details of the miraculous birth by saying she was betrothed, married to Joseph, the carpenter, the ceremony was done, but the marriage had not yet been consummated
she was meant to marry a man and that was when the miraculous conception and birth happened
it covers up that fact by saying since she was betrothed to Joseph, Joseph was at first disturbed, but out of the goodness of his heart or it also said he saw in a dream (also found in some tafaaseer) that an angel came to him and said this baby will become a messenger
so Joseph took Maryam as a wife to save her from slander
so Joseph is the worldly father of Jesus
the way the Christian scripture perceives the prophets and Maryam and people of this caliber, it doesn’t talk a lot about how chaste Maryam was and how she took her modesty and chastity very seriously
that type of investment into the narrative which is a prelude to the miraculous conception not mentioned in bible
in one sense we know that Christian revered Maryam and in fact took reverence of Maryam too far but it’s in very weird for how they do so because they do not take into account her chastity and modesty, such that it would have been IMPOSSIBLE for her to do something that wrong
that is a stark comparison how Quran and sunnah view these people versus other religions even the Christian scriptures
in previous passage we talked about miracles that Allah brought forth : stream, fruits falling down
this again is talk about how Maryam is such a person that Allah is bringing all these miracles for her

Ayat 27

Sahih International

Then she brought him to her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented.

fa atat bihi –

fa is for ta’qeeb – after everything said and done. Now Isa a.s. is born
some scholars say fa is ta’qeeb (after the fact)
there is some riwaayaat that said she came back to the people with Isa a.s. after the post natal period had transpired
Allah knows best

atat – a verb meaning to come or to arrive

but it has a synonym : al majee” – jaa “a yajee”u :- to come or to arrive
but there is a difference in Quranic/classical Arabic between them
from literary perspective, the tone of the two words is different
almajee, jaa aj – indicates the arrival/coming of something that is more demanding, difficult, heavy
al ityaan, ataa ya2ti – arrival that is very easy, convenient
here Allah uses the easier term
we will see the heavier term in this same ayah
we’ll get to see the difference in tone between the two in this ayah
it doesn’t just mean that she came but she found itr very to come back to her people
she wasn’t apprehensive, terrified anymore but she was confident
this was the same woman who ran away , very distraught and now she’s very confident, comfortable
what has changed?
in previous ayat, all that miracle that has transpired, all of these brought comfort to her (Allah is taking care of me)
and when angel told her that she can’t speak to people, what’s implicit about that is that Allah is saying “We’ll do the talking, you just do what We’ve asked you to do.”
when you’re assured by someone in authority, you’re confident
imagine Allah telling you to be confident and that He will take care of everything
at same time, the child has come into existence
during pregnancy, there is apprehension which is normal
now that she’s holding the child, it brings a certain level of confidence, she is a mother
she doesn’t have the luxury to be apprehensive, she is responsible for another human being now
holding any child brings a woman confidence, responsibility, maturity
imagine holding a messenger of Allah that is a living miracle
Maryam knew better than anyone that this is a miraculous conception because she knows she hasn’t had physical intimacy
she came back to the people with Isa a.s.

tahmilulu – she was carrying him – present tense :- for us to picture the scene, visualize it, because something amazing is going to happen now

laqad ji”ti – you have brought, you have come
ji”ti , al majee” jaa “a yajee”u-: this is the heavy word used
because people are saying practically “What have you done?! How dare you come back with this?!”
on one hand, you have Maryam who is very confident because she has personal experience that it’s a miracle from Allah and on the other hand, the people are appalled at this
shay”an – something

fariyyan :-

root of word has interesting origin:
when skin has been damaged/burnt and it’s cut off and removed
to remove that skin which has been burnt/damaged
base meaning of word = extreme measures
when you remove skin that is a very extreme measure, like Dr. saying there is no hope for this skin healing and it’s going to rot so now we have to take extreme measures
fariyyan – when someone does something that is extremely reprehensible
derivative of this word – iftiraa -: used in meaning of when someone not just lies/fabricates about something/one but when someone makes up a very very horrible lie, when you very blatantly says something very incorrect about someone
“You’ve come with something that is horrible!”
within the lexicons, there is fact that in classical Arabic, Fariyyan in its hyperbolic form, they would use it when describing a child born out of wedlock
in An-Nisa 156
Sahih International

And [We cursed them] for their disbelief and their saying against Mary a great slander,
through their words, kufr to Maryam they have made a great slander
now they continue on and this is that element that was talked about previously
part of apprehension of Maryam was that she was very concerned about people accusing her and her parents, teachers, people whom she loves, respects, she’s also worried about the honor and dignity of these people

Ayat 28

Sahih International

O sister of Aaron, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste.”

why they refer to Maryam as sister of Harun?
this is a huge discussion among scholar of Quran
this is said figuratively
we know of Harun a.s. = brother of Musa a.s.
she’s not literal sister of Harun, we know that
we see this in other places in the Quran as well
Ahqaf – when Allah commands Prophet saw to recall story of Hud a.s.
‘brother of ‘Aad’
‘Aad is name of forefathers dating back generations
when Prophet Hud was called brother of Aad it’s use in figurative sense, where he comes from that line
prophet saw used it in firgurative sense as well
in a hadith, Prophet saw said “Good news to my brothers!” Sahabah said “Aren’t we your brothers?” Prophet saw said, “No, you are my sahabah, my brothers are those who will come after me and they will believe in me even though they have not seen me.”
this is virtue of ummah of Prophet saw
he’s (saw) congratulating us as well so we should live up to this and truly believe and follow him (saw)
Prophet saw refers to us even as brothers even though there is no blood connection
but it refers to anyone who will come after him (saw) who will believe and follow him (saw)
even in Quran, in Surah Israa, Allah says – people who spend without need, are the brothers of Shaytaan
tabzheer – to spend without need
Israa 17:27
Sahih International

Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.
when you have a full rack of shoes but still will go buy clothes because you feel like it or because they’re on sale!
it doesn’t mean you’re brothers by blood to shaytaan but brother in type of behavior, in figurative sense, to shaytaan
they’re invoking not just by name of Maryam’s father, but all the way back to one of the forefathers of their tribes, Harun a.s. a messenger of Allah and there are even specific reasons why they say Harun a.s. and not Musa a.s.
“You come from a progeny of a very chaste and amazing person like Haroon, how can you have done something like this?!”
we don’t have a lot authentic narrations on this
if we study Quran properly there is so much more you can learn from it
it’s in surah Taha
20:94
Sahih International

[Aaron] said, “O son of my mother, do not seize [me] by my beard or by my head. Indeed, I feared that you would say, ‘You caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not observe [or await] my word.’ ”
it describes Musa a.s. and Harun a.s. and how they respond and react you can feel their characters which are very vividly described in Quran
we can feel from the Quran that Musa a.s. has a more domineering and aggressive nature
e.g. he accidentally killed the Coptic when he came up to him
e.g. when he came back and finds his people worshipping the calf, he beat his brother Harun a.s.
through those narrations, we see Harun responding to Musa a.s., we know he is the older brother, but see how he responds,
“Oh son of my mother – a very soft gentle personality, doesn’t even call him brother but says mother
“Think about our mother, would our mother like seeing us fighting like this?”
a very gentle soul
because of that softness and gentleness that Harun a.s. is an epitome of, that’s why they invoke his name
“You come from a progeny of a very humble, soft, gentle soul, how can you have come with something like this?”
hadith in sahih Muslim, different variations in Musnad of Imam Ahmad, Jaami of Imam Tirmidhi, in numerous books of ahadeeth
Mugheerah ibn shu’bah was sent by prophet saw to people of Najran with message of Islam. They said, “Don’t you see what you people read and recite in the Quran, ya ukhta Haroon, and Musa and Harun’s time before Isa’s time was much more before time of Isa a.s. How does your Quran refer to Maryam as sister of Haroon?” Al Mugheerah says “I didn’t know what to say so I didn’t say anything.”Mugheerah returned to Prophet saw and mentioned this to him (saw) and Prophet saw said, “Don’t they know that they used to be named by their prophets and pious people that preceded them?”
Mugheerah was a student of Muhammad saw, so when he’s asked a question and he doesn’t know the answer, he admits it – lesson for us to do the same
even if they don’t grasp the metaphorical usage of the word, why don’t they understand the fact that they would name their children after a pious people/prophet that had preceded them
Maryam could have had a brother/cousin named Harun after Harun a.s.
we find some narrations mentioned by mufassiroon that there is a biological brother of Maryam and some say he is cousin of Maryam
some say he was so righteous that when he died 40,000 people attended his funeral prayer
there are 2 answers to the same question
marvel of Quran is that both these meanings can be taken at same time
they’re trying to make her feel shameful by what she’s ‘done’ by invoking the name of such a man indicating “how can you tarnish the legacy of such a man?’

wa kaana abuki imra “a saw”in – your father is not a bad man

saw”in – this is idhaafah done through common form, this is not the default way to construct an idhaafah
when done in this format it is to express “Your father was not a man who has even an ounce of evil in him”

wa kaanat ummuki baghiyya – and your mother is not a sinful woman, your mother never did anything bad like this

they say this because ‘where else would you find such a habit?”
children are reflections of their parents, they pick up these qualities from their parents
they’re slandering Maryam , so they’re not actually praising her parents, it has that accusative tone to it
almost sarcastically being said “Your parents are good people, how can you have done something like this?!” implying that maybe her parents are bad as well
Maryam’s fears are realized now that they ‘re implicating her parents in this entire scenario
someone says something very bad to you, slander and accuse you, and on top of that they bring your parents into it
it’s very insulting, “Leave my family out of it! How dare you bring my parents into this?”
Maryam wants to respond like any red-blooded human being want to, she wants to tell them off, but she was told not to speak
she’s been described in Quran as a qaanitah in surah Tahreem
Tahreem 66:12
Sahih International

And [the example of] Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity, so We blew into [her garment] through Our angel, and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient.
qunoot -:
to literally be still and completely quiet
this is figuratively used in complete and total obedience
obedience at level of you’re asked to jump and you ask “How high?”
to not speak unless spoken to
the person will just sit there until you ask them to speak
qaanit – someone who embodies that type of obedience
there is comfort in the obedience of Allah
not just her but her child has been called a product of illegitimate relationship
now they’re talking bad about her baby
don’t ever say anything bad about a woman’s child, she will take it personally
they said something bad about her child and now they’re talking bad about her parents, adding salt to injury
any human being would want to lash out
but look at Maryam
look at her obedience
she was told “When you are confronted, don’t say a word.”
you see that self control, conviction, obedience of Maryam

Ayat 29

Sahih International

So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?”

fa ashaarat ilayh -: without saying anything she signaled towards the child

mufasiroon discuss here : what let her know that she should signal to the child?
some say that Allah had informed her that she was to do that
even if not, she gave birth to this child, she knows it’s a miracle, so if a child can come into existence without a father, let’s see what else is there, she has no doubts, so she points to the child

kaifa nukallimu man kaana fil mahdi sabiyyan – they are asking how? they asking rhetorical question

“do you really expect us that we should speak to the one that is a child in the lap of his mother?!”

mahd – refers specifically to a child being carried by a mother because he’s nursing

they’re insulted because they think Maryam is insulting them trying to tell them to talk to her baby

Ayat 30

Sahih International

[Jesus] said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.

innee abdullah – I am definitely no doubt the slave of Allah

why is he identified in Quran as Abdullah?
this is a very powerful explicit reminder to people who have changed his status from Abdullah(slave of Allah) to Ibnullah (son of Allah)
“my existence in this world is through miraculous means but that doesn’t change the fact that I am still a slave of Allah, bound and accountable for myself”

Ataaniyal kitaaba – He has given me the book

what does book refer to here?
we know that Isa a.s. was a prophet of Allah who was granted a scripture and we know it as Injeel
Sheikh posed this question to Sis Hayaat (the one who studied comparative religion formally)
Sheikh had read this in numerous text that in Islamic scholarship there is a popular notion that Taurah was more of the legal text where a lot of the rules and jurisprudential matters are contained. in Quran we call it Ahkaam
and Injeel is more of reminder, the spiritual, inspirational, motivational – this was majority of content of Injeel
to get a more objective view of it, Sheikh asked the sister
the sister said the bible is divided into 2 parts (old and new testament)
old testament is made up of 3 parts : Taurah, Naveem (stories of prophets), Kataveem (more of writings)
when Quran refers to Taurah it just refers to the first part what is called the Old Testament today
that reconciles a lot of the irregularities that we might find in what we might refer to as Taurah and what they refer to as Taurah
we shouldn’t translate Taurah as Old testament but Taurah is just part of the Old Testament
The New Testament which is making refercen to Injeel or Bible is made up of 2 broad categories :- Gospels (4 books:- chapters of Matthew Mark Luke and John)
Gospels is a Latin word in Greek, Aramaic, closer to the language Isa a.s. spoke
some correlations here and how Injeel also correlate to same type of meaning and means ‘good news’
Isa a.s. himself has said that his disciples should adhere to Injeel
fact that Injeel means ‘good news’, that’s reiterating same fact that Islamic scholarship latches on to, that Injeel was the spiritual, inspirational message
in these 1st 4 parts of the Old Testament we would find parts of Injeel which contains teachings and sayings of Isa a.s.
writings of Paul make up bulk of the New Testament
when we say Injeel we are referring to just the 1st part, the Gospel and part of Old Testament
we are not referring to bulk of New Testament, we don’t see that as something authentic, we don’t give it any credence, has no religious significance to us
whether it comes from Isa a.s. or not, Allah knows best
Isa a.s. saying about obedience to Taurah, from book of Matthew : Do not think I have come to abolish the law of the prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Taurah was primary source of law and we see Isa a.s. reiterating that
it was Paul who later on changed it much later on
this is not just perspective of a Muslim this is not a Muslim understanding ,but this is what academics and scholars of Bible studies
when Isa a.s. says ‘the book has been given to me’ he’s not just referring to the Injeel (which is a supplement to the Taurah) but he’s also saying he’s continuing the tradition of the prophets before me
part of theme of this surah is continuity of the message
and this is shown right here

wa ja’alani mabiyyan – I have been made a prophet

this is the first part of the speech of Infant Isa a.s.
this is a reminder to people who took Isa’s a.s. status too far
the second part of the statement is a reprimand to the people who do not acknowledge at all the significance of Isa a.s.
they didn’t accept that this was a miraculous birth, and supposed that his mother must have been a sinful woman
Isa a.s. is practically saying through this “Listen to the message that is yet to come from me and see if you don’t find it consistent with the prophets you already believe in, and then dismiss me if you can’t find the consistency.”
“I’m a messenger of Allah and you have no choice but to except that, because once you do not, you are refusing to believe in Allah, basically you are not coming to terms with believing that Allah could have created a child without a father.”
in Aali Imran Allah tells us
3:59
Sahih International

Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he was.
most definitely the example of Isa a.s. is like example of Adam a.s.
if it doesn’t quite add up to what you require to believe in the birth of someone scientifically logically then know that Allah is fully capable of doing so because the very first human being came into existence through qudrah of Allah

Ayat 31

Sahih International

And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive

infant Isa a.s. continues to speak

mubaarakan – comes from barakah (blessing)

root meaning is something that automatically refilled, perpetual blessings, that continue, replenish themselves, ever lasting
Allah is source of all these blessings
here used in its hyperbolic form
baaraka yubaariku
tabaaraka – bab tafa’ul – it means MOST blessed is the one
Allah is the sole giver, control of all blessings
when somethings is said to be Mubaarak it means not just that it’s blessed but that it’s showered abundantly with blessings
“Allah has made me blessed that everywhere I go I will even spread, carry the blessings of Allah”

aynamaa kuntu – wherever I may be

“I will be a representative of the blessings of Allah.”
because he’s a prophet and messenger
their primary function aside from bringing message, they are to be obeyed, they are not just there to show you miracles, but you are to believe in them and follow them
when he says ‘wherever I may be I will be a source of blessed’ that is subtly reminding people that if you want the blessings of Allah in your life, you will follow my example in your life, not just in masjid but when at home, in business, in community
for us, in terms of Prophet saw, that same message that Prophet saw, he’s the means to achieve the blessing of Allah just like Isa a.s.
if we want to enjoy blessing of Allah we will follow example of Muhammad saw in all walks of life no matter where we are what we are doing
not just in religious matters but also when dealing with people
will continue in next session

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