Sūrah Maryam

Overview

Sūrah Maryam is a Makkan sūrah with 98 āyāt. It is so named due to it speaking about the conception and birth of ʿĪsā and the trials his venerable mother faced during. It is the only sūrah named after a lady in the Qur’an. It directly addresses misconceptions about both persons. After relaying their narrative, Allah proclaims: “That is ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam—the statement of truth about which they dispute” (19:34). The sūrah begins with a solemn, private invocation. Zakariyyā complains of his state to his Lord: he is getting old, his bones are frail, he has turned grey, and his wife is barren. Despite all this: “I have never been, in calling upon You Lord, disappointed” (19:2-4). Indeed, his Lord did not disappoint him. He is given the glad tidings of a boy named Yaḥyā, a name which had not been given to anyone before (19:7). Yaḥyā grew to be a wise, pure, and gentle prophet of Allah. This is the first of two miraculous conceptions mentioned in the sūrah. Maryam, who was under the care of Zakariyyā, would spend her days in secluded worship, and Allah would provide her sustenance. Jibrīl came to her in human form. He calms her initial shock by telling her that he is a an angelic emissary from the Divine, coming to her with the glad tiding of a pure child she was to bear—an ordained matter by the Creator. Allah then describes what must have been an unbearable childbirth, so much so that Maryam is quoted as saying: “Would that I had died before this and was a thing forgotten!” (19:23). When she returns to her people, their minds immediately jump to unseemly conclusions, especially since Allah had forbidden her from speaking to any mortal. Her son, baby ʿĪsā, was the one who came to her defence (19:24-36). Many messengers are then cited in quick succession: Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, Hārūn, Ismāʿīl, and Idrīs—all are form the progeny of Ādam, and some from the descendants of those carried in the ark with Nūḥ (19:42-58). The discourse transitions to the harrowing scenes of the reckoning of the Last Day (19:59-87), and the sūrah concludes with an emphatic rebuke—perhaps the most severe in the whole Qur’an—of the claim that the Almighty had taken a son (19: 88-95). He has reserved His love for those who believe in Him and do good deeds (19:96).

Context

Sūrah Maryam was revealed in the early years of prophecy, before the migration to Abyssinia (see Virtues and Valuable Information), and before the revelation of Sūrah Ṭā-Hā. It is related to the occasion of revelation of Sūrah al-Kahf. The Prophet ﷺ was awaiting Jibrīl to come down to him that he may respond to the questions pertaining to the fellows of the cave and Dhū al-Qarnayn. He took longer than the Prophet ﷺ had hoped for. When Jibrīl finally came, he ﷺ asked him about his delay. He replied with Allah’s words: “We do not descend except with the command of your Lord. To Him belongs what is before us and what is behind us and all between those two; and your Lord is never forgetful” (19:64).

Themes

• The benign omnipotence of Allah. He is powerful over all things, and He gives unprecedented favours to His chosen slaves.
• The unity of prophethood and the fraternity which binds the deliverers of the message, peace and blessings be upon them all.
• The severity of judgement and the severe reckoning on the Last Day.
• The oneness of Allah and His transcendence far beyond having offspring—exalted be He high above what the foolish claim, a mighty exaltation!

Unique Features

• Many sūrahs which begin with discrete letters come in groups. For example, Sūrah al-Baqarah and Sūrah Āl ʿImrān are two of six sūrahs which begin with alif-lām-mīm. The discrete letters which Sūrah Maryam begins with are very unique: kāf-hā-yā-ʿayn-ṣād.
• Sūrah Maryam is the only sūrah which describes how ʿĪsā miraculously spoke as a babe in arms to defend the honour of his mother and proclaim his prophethood. (19:29-33)
• It contains the only mention of Allah as ḥafiyy—very caring and gracious (19:47). Some scholars thus count al-Ḥafiyy (the Gracious) among al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā (the Divine Names).
• Though the account where Ibrāhīm invites his father to monotheism is referenced many times in the Qur’an, it is in Sūrah Maryam where we find the conversation explicitly and beautifully recounted. (19:41-50)
• Idrīs is mentioned twice in the Qur’an. Here, he is explicitly given a lofty station with Allah. (19:56-57)
• It contains the fifth sajdah in the Qur’an. (19:58)
• The name of Allah al-Raḥmān is mentioned 16 times in Sūrah Maryam, the most of any sūrah.

Lessons

• Allah commanded Zakariyyā to not speak to anyone for three days and three nights. That did not stop him from exhorting towards God-consciousness: “He said, ‘My Lord, make for me a sign.’ He said, ‘Your sign is that you mustn’t speak to people for three consecutive nights.’ So he came out to his folk from his sanctuary and signalled to them to worship, morning and evening.” (19:11)
• Maryam was in severe pain. Having just given birth—or perhaps during her labour—Allah commanded her: “Shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards you and it will drop ripe dates upon you” (19:25). Allah could have caused the dates to come to her without her shaking the trunk, but He loves to see effort from His slaves. Do your part; the rest is in Allah’s hands.
• There is a direct relationship between neglecting prayer and following one’s lowly whims and desires: “Then they (the messengers) were succeeded by generations who wasted prayers and followed lusts; and thus they will face evil.” (19:59)

Virtues and Valuable Information

During their stay in Abyssinia, Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib was elected by the emigrants to speak to the king, the Negus (al-Najāshī). Asked about their belief regarding Maryam and ʿĪsā, he recited the opening passage of Sūrah Maryam concerning their narrative. The Negus and his priests wept in awe. He then said his famous statement: “This speech comes from the same source as what Mūsā came with.”