Maryam

كٓهيعٓصٓ 1

{ كهيعص } الله أعلم بمراده بذلك هذا.

Kāf hā yā ‘ayn sād: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

ذِكْرُ رَحْمَتِ رَبِّكَ عَبْدَهُۥ زَكَرِيَّآ 2

{ ذكر رحمت ربك عبده } مفعول رحمة { زكريا } بيان له.

This is, a mention of your Lord’s mercy to His servant (‘abdahu, a direct object of rahma, ‘mercy’) Zachariah (an explication of it [the direct object]),

إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُۥ نِدَآءً خَفِيًّا 3

{ إذ } متعلق برحمة { نادى ربه ندآء } مشتملا على دعاء { خفيا } سرا في جوف الليل لأنه أسرع للإجابة.

when (idh is semantically connected to rahma, ‘mercy’) he called out to his Lord a call, entailing a supplication, in secret, in the middle of the night, because this [time of the night] invites a faster response [to one’s supplication].

قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَهَنَ ٱلْعَظْمُ مِنِّى وَٱشْتَعَلَ ٱلرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنۢ بِدُعَآئِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا 4

{ قال رب إنى وهن } ضعف { العظم } جميعه { منى واشتعل الرأس } مني { شيبا } تمييز محول عن الفاعل أي: انتشر الشيب في شعره كما ينتشر شعاع النار في الحطب، وإني أريد أن أدعوك { ولم أكن بدعآئك } أي بدعائي إياك { رب شقيا } أي خائبا فيما مضى فلا تخيبني فيما يأتي.

He said, ‘My Lord, truly the bones, all [the bones], within me have become feeble, weak, and my head is alight with grey hair (shayban, a specification derived from the subject of the verb in other words, hoariness has spread throughout his hairs just as a spark of fire spreads through firewood) and I wish to supplicate to you, and I have never been in my supplications to You, my Lord, unsuccessful, that is, [I have never been] disappointed, in the past, so do not disappoint me in what follows.

وَإِنِّى خِفْتُ ٱلْمَوَٰلِىَ مِن وَرَآءِى وَكَانَتِ ٱمْرَأَتِى عَاقِرًا فَهَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا 5

{ وإني خفت المولى } أي الذين يلوني في النسب كبني العم { من ورءى } أي بعد موتي على الدين أن يضيعوه كما شاهدته في بني إسرائيل من تبديل الدين { وكانت امرأتى عاقرا } لا تلد { فهب لى من لدنك } من عندك { وليا } ابنا.

And truly I fear my kinsfolk, namely, those who will succeed me [as closest after me] in kinship, such as [my] paternal cousins, after me, that is, after my death, [I fear] for the religion, lest they forsake it, as You have witnessed in the case of the Children of Israel, in the way that they changed [their] religion, and my wife is barren, she does not conceive. So grant me from Yourself a successor, a son,

يَرِثُنِى وَيَرِثُ مِنْ ءَالِ يَعْقُوبَ ۖ وَٱجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا 6

{ يرثنى } بالجزم: جواب الأمر، وبالرفع صفة وليا { ويرث } بالوجهين { من ءال يعقوب } جدي: العلم والنبوة { واجعله رب رضيا } أي: مرضيا عندك.

who may inherit from me (read yarithnī in apocopated form as a response to the imperative statement [fa-hab lī, ‘grant me’], or read yarithunī as an adjectival qualification of waliyyan, ‘a successor’) and inherit (also read in both ways [mentioned]), from the House of Jacob, my forefather, [inherit] knowledge and prophethood, and make him, my Lord, acceptable’, that is, pleasing to you.

يَـٰزَكَرِيَّآ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَـٰمٍ ٱسْمُهُۥ يَحْيَىٰ لَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا 7

قال تعالى في إجابة طلبه الابن الحاصل به رحمته: { يزكريآ إنا نبشرك بغلم } يرث كما سألت { اسمه يحيى لم نجعل له من قبل سميا } أي: مسمى بيحيى.

God, exalted be He, in responding to his request for a son that will be the incarnation of His mercy, says: ‘O Zachariah! Indeed We give you good tidings of a boy, who will inherit in the way that you have requested — whose name is John. Never before have We made anyone his namesake’, that is, [never has there been] anyone with the name ‘John’.

قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَـٰمٌ وَكَانَتِ ٱمْرَأَتِى عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا 8

{ قال رب إنى } كيف { يكون لى غلم وكانت امرأتى عاقرا وقد بلغت من الكبر عتيا } من عتايبس: ألى نهاية السن مائة وعشرين سنة وبلغت امرأته ثمانيا وتسعين سنة، وأصل (عتي): (عتوو)، كسرت التاء تخفيفا، وقلبت الواو الأولى ياء لمناسبة الكسرة، والثانية ياء لتدغم فيها الياء.

He said, ‘My Lord, how shall I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age?’ (‘itiyyan, [derives] from [the verb] ‘atā, ‘it became withered’) in other words, [he had reached] extreme old age, 120 years; and his wife had reached the age of 98 (‘atiya in terms of its root derives from ‘utuwwun, but the tā’ is vowelled as -ti-, to soften it, the first wāw [vowel] is changed into a yā’ to be in harmony with the –ti- vowelling, while the second [wāw letter] is changed into a yā’ so that the [previous] yā’ can be assimilated with it).

قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْـًٔا 9

{ قال } الأمر { كذلك } من خلق غلام منكما { قال ربك هو على هين } أي: بأن أرد عليك قوة الجماع، وأفتق رحم امرأتك للعلوق { وقد خلقتك من قبل ولم تك شيئا } قبل خلقك، ولإظهار الله هذه القدرة العظيمة ألهمه السؤال ليجاب بما يدل عليها. ولما تاقت نفسه إلى سرعة المبشر به.

He said, ‘It, the matter [in question], of creating a boy from both of you, shall be so! Your Lord says, “It is easy for Me, namely, to restore your sexual potency and tear open your wife’s womb [in preparation] for conception, for I certainly created you before when you were nothing”’, [you were nothing] before your created form became manifest. As God wished to manifest this great power, He inspired him [the form of] the question, in order for him to receive the response that will indicate it [this power]. And when his soul yearned for the prompt arrival of that whereof he had been given good tidings:

قَالَ رَبِّ ٱجْعَل لِّىٓ ءَايَةً ۚ قَالَ ءَايَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ ٱلنَّاسَ ثَلَـٰثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا 10

{ قال رب اجعل لى ءاية } أي علامة على حمل امرأتي { قال ءايتك } عليه { ألا تكلم الناس } أي تمتنع من كلامهم بخلاف ذكر الله { ثلث ليال } أي بأيامها كما في آل عمران

ثلثة أيام

[41:3] { سويا } حال من فاعل تكلم أي بلا علة.

He said, ‘Lord, appoint for me some sign’, namely, some indication of my wife’s becoming pregnant. Said He, ‘Your sign, for this, is that you shall not speak to people, that is, that you [should] refrain from speaking to them, but not [from speaking] the remembrance of God, exalted be He, for three nights, that is, together with the days thereof, as [stated] in [sūrat] Āl ‘Imrān, ‘for three days’ [Q. 3:41], while [you are] in sound health’ (sawiyyan, a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject of the verb tukallima, ‘you shall [not] speak’) in other words, despite there being no defect [in you].

فَخَرَجَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلْمِحْرَابِ فَأَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَيْهِمْ أَن سَبِّحُوا۟ بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا 11

{ فخرج على قومه من المحراب } أي المسجد وكانوا ينتظرون فتحه ليصلوا فيه بأمره على العادة { فأوحى } أشار { إليهم أن سبحوا } صلوا { بكرة وعشيا } أوائل النهار وأواخره على العادة، فعلم بمنعه من كلامهم حملها بيحيى.

So he emerged before his people from the sanctuary, that is, from the temple — they had been waiting for him to open it in order to perform [their] prayers therein after his command, as was the custom — and signalled, indicated, to them, ‘Make glorifications, perform prayers, at morning and evening’, at the beginning of the day and [at] its end, as per usual. He then realised, upon his being prevented from speaking to them, that she was pregnant with John.

يَـٰيَحْيَىٰ خُذِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِقُوَّةٍ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ ٱلْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا 12

وبعد ولادته بسنتين. قال تعالى له: { ييحيى خذ الكتب } أي التوراة { بقوة } بجد { وءاتينه الحكم } النبوة { صبيا } ابن ثلاث سنين.

And two years after his birth, God, exalted be He, said to him: ‘O John! Hold on to the Scripture, namely, the Torah, firmly’, earnestly. And We gave him judgement, prophethood, while still a child, a three-year old;