In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. The story of Maryam, daughter of ‘Imran, peace be upon her.
"And let your eye be comforted," O Maryam.
After Maryam, peace be upon her, gave birth to ‘Isa, peace be upon him,
she began to be overcome by increasing anxieties.
That is why she said at the time of birth,
“And the pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm-tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died ere this and had become a thing of naught, forgotten!” (19:23)
these anxieties
were centered on how she would face her people.
What would she say to them?
And what would they think of her?
This confrontation
required psychological composure
so that she would know what to say and how to act.
It also required psychological strength
to absorb their suspicions about her,
whatever those suspicions might be,
and it was not expected that they would be favorable thoughts.
She needed to absorb the hurtful words that might be directed at her.
Therefore, Maryam, peace be upon her, had to be
at peace when facing her people.
For Maryam, peace be upon her,
was in need of two things to calm herself
and maintain her composure in the face of her people.
The first:
physical rest after childbirth.
For if the body is exhausted,
it is difficult for it to think and focus.
A woman after childbirth needs what will strengthen her body
so that her health may return,
and she may have the strength to think and focus on what she says and does.
Therefore, it was said to her:
“And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee.” (19:25)
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
He, the Almighty, says:
"Eat of the dates that fall upon you,"
"and drink from the water of the stream that your Lord has placed beneath you."
Do not fear hunger or thirst.
"And let your eye be comforted."
He says: Be at ease, rejoice in the birth of your son, and do not grieve.
The word "eye" is in the accusative case because it is the entity described as being comforted.
The meaning of the statement is:
May your eye be comforted by your child.
Abu Zahra, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
"Eat of the fresh, ripe dates,"
"and drink from the flowing stream."
"And let your eye be comforted" by the pure boy Allah the Almighty has gifted you.
The comfort of the eye is its stillness.
When a person is in distress and fear,
their eye wanders and does not settle.
Thus, we use the comfort of the eye as a metaphor for stillness and tranquility.
The comfort of the eye signals the comfort of the soul.
The command to comfort the eye,
even if it is not under the control of the will,
is a command to calm the soul and banish frightening thoughts,
and not to expect evil,
because Allah is with her.
Miracles occurred as evidence that He, glory be to Him, was with her.
And whoever has Allah with them,
must be at peace, with a comforted eye and soul.
So He guided her to three things to achieve the first requirement,
which is bodily rest.
They are:
First:
Eating the dates that fall from the palm tree after she shakes it.
Some scholars have derived from this verse
that the best food for a woman who has just given birth
is dates.
They said:
If there were anything better for a woman in postpartum than dates,
Allah would have fed it to Maryam at the time of her delivery of ‘Isa.
Al-Tahir Ibn ‘Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Rutab" (fresh dates)
are dates that have not yet fully dried.
"Jani" (freshly gathered)
is a form meaning "that which is gathered."
Meaning, recently plucked.
It is a metaphor for the immediacy of its falling,
meaning its freshness.
It was not from dates stored beforehand,
because the closer dates are to their palm tree,
the better their taste.
Second:
Drinking from the flowing water.
And "ma'in" (flowing/clear)
means pure, abundant water.
Third:
Joy and happiness with the newborn.
Al-Sa‘di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
This is her reassurance regarding safety from the pain of childbirth
and the attainment of pleasant food and drink.
The second thing Maryam needed to calm herself
was the speech and argument with which she would face her people.
Maryam’s soul, peace be upon her, might have been preoccupied with thinking about what she would say to her people.
So the guidance came to her, contrary to what was circulating in her mind and occupying her thoughts.
The guidance came for her to be silent and not speak,
but rather to worship Allah by refraining from speaking to humans.
It was said to her:
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
He says:
If you see anyone from the children of Adam who speaks to you or asks you about your affair or the affair of your son,
and the reason for your birth,
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
he says:
Then say: "I have vowed a fast to the Most Merciful, so I will not speak today to any human."
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
And His saying:
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
Meaning, whoever you see,
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
The intent of this statement
and pointing to it,
is not that the intent is verbal speech,
so as not to contradict [the vow of silence].
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
Anas Ibn Malik said regarding His saying:
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
He said:
"A fast" (samtan).
Likewise said Ibn ‘Abbas and al-Dahhak.
And in a narration from Anas:
"A fast and silence."
Likewise said Qatadah and others.
The meaning is
that when they fasted in their law,
food and speech were forbidden to them.
Al-Suddi, Qatadah,
and ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Zayd affirmed this.
Abu Ishaq said,
on the authority of Harithah, who said:
I was with Ibn Mas‘ud,
and two men came.
One of them greeted him and the other did not.
He said:
"What is the matter with you?"
His companions said:
"He swore not to speak to people today."
‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud said:
"Speak to the people and greet them,"
"for that is a woman."
She knew that no one would believe her
that she had conceived without a husband,
meaning Maryam, peace be upon her,
so that it would be an excuse for her if she were asked.
Narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
She was only commanded to do that
so that she would not be asked about her son.
Al-Sa‘di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
As for the people's speech,
she was commanded that if she saw any human,
she should say by way of gesture:
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
meaning silence.
“So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.” (19:26)
Meaning, do not address them with speech,
so that you may find rest from their words and talk.
It was known among them
that silence was among the prescribed acts of worship.
She was not commanded to address them
to deny that [accusation] from herself,
because people would not believe her,
nor would there be any benefit in it.
And so that her exoneration
by the speech of ‘Isa in the cradle
would be the greatest witness to her innocence.
For a woman to bring forth a child without a husband,
and claim that it is from no one,
is one of the greatest claims,
which, even if a number of witnesses were brought,
would not be believed.
So the proof of this miracle
was made something of its own kind,
which is the speech of ‘Isa while he was very young.
In this matter that happened to Maryam, peace be upon her,
is a lesson for everyone who strives
to solve social or family problems,
in benefiting from these practical steps.
The person with the problem often has their thinking
under the control of the negative consequences of the problem,
and it may be difficult for them to see the solution.
So they need someone to enlighten them on the path.
Therefore, the one striving for reform
must first take them out of the pessimistic view of their problem
to the vastness of Allah’s mercy to His servants and His kindness to them,
by enlightening them on aspects of Allah the Almighty’s kindness to them
and His blessings upon them in the problem itself.
Then, connect them directly to Allah
by teaching them the great supplication
for the removal of worry and grief,
so that Allah may remove from them the worry and grief that has afflicted them,
and make it easy for them to look at the reality of their problem
which has filled their chest with worry and grief.
For on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"No servant has ever said,
when afflicted by worry or grief:
'O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant,
my forelock is in Your hand,
Your command over me is ever executed,
and Your decree over me is just.
I ask You by every name that is Yours,
with which You have named Yourself,
or revealed in Your Book,
or taught to any of Your creation,
or kept hidden in the knowledge of the unseen with You,
that You make the Qur’an the spring of my heart,
the light of my vision,
and the clearing of my sorrow,
and the removal of my anxiety.
Allah will surely remove his anxiety and replace his sorrow with joy.
They asked, "O Messenger of Allah,
should we learn these words?"
He replied, "Yes,
it is fitting for anyone who hears them to learn them."
Narrated by Ibn Hibban.
A person facing a problem who is overwhelmed by anxiety
often turns away from food and loses their appetite
due to the intensity of the thoughts and the sorrow dominating their soul regarding the problem.
Consequently, their body weakens, and their ability to think weakens as well.
Therefore, the one striving to provide a solution
must help the person in distress return to their normal state,
so that their soul may calm down and they may eat,
and they can think clearly and engage with the solution being proposed to them.
The Sunnah has guided us to a type of food
that is highly beneficial in cases of sorrow.
It is narrated from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
that whenever a death occurred among her family,
and the women gathered for that purpose,
then dispersed, except for her family and close relatives,
she would order a pot of talbinah to be cooked.
Then, tharid (a dish of bread and broth) would be prepared,
and the talbinah would be poured over it.
Then she would say,
"Eat from it,
for I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
'Talbinah brings comfort to the heart of the sick,
and it takes away some of the sorrow.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
Ibn al-Mulaqqin, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Talbinah is a soup made from flour and bran."
The meaning of "brings comfort" (mujimmah) is
that it soothes and relieves the heart of its anxiety.
Abu al-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"It means that it strengthens and invigorates it,
because it is a food that possesses a gentle quality,
easy for the sick person to consume.
When the sick person uses it,
the heat of hunger is dispelled,
and they receive nutritional strength without any hardship.
Thus, some of what they were experiencing is relieved, and they become energized,
and the distress and sorrow they felt due to their illness depart."
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to prepare it for the family of the deceased
and add bread to it
because the sorrow of the family of the deceased distracted them from eating,
causing the heat of their internal organs to intensify from hunger and grief.
So, when she fed them the talbinah,
the intensity of their hunger was broken,
and some of what they were suffering was alleviated.
I ask Allah to remove our anxieties and sorrows,
and replace them with joy and happiness,
and well-being in this world and the Hereafter.
We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.