In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary from the Tafsir of al-Tabari.
Abridged by Dr. 'Aqil ibn Salim al-Shammari.
Surah Maryam.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place.” (19:22)
“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)
“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)
"And I was a thing forgotten, consigned to oblivion."
She withdrew with the child she carried, who was 'Isa (Jesus).
She moved away with him to a place far removed from the people.
The labor pains drove her to the trunk of a date palm.
She said, while in the throes of childbirth,
out of shame before the people,
"Oh, would that I had died before this anguish I am in,
and had been a thing forgotten and cast away."
So that you might be seen and forgotten.
“Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee,” (19:24)
“Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee,” (19:24)
“And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee.” (19:25)
“And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee.” (19:25)
Then the newborn called out to her from beneath her, and he was 'Isa,
"Do not grieve, O my mother."
“Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee,” (19:24)
Which is the small stream.
“And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee.” (19:25)
"The date palm will drop upon you fresh, ripe dates."
“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 if you see any human being,"
"say, 'Indeed, I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious.'"
“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 of the dates that fall upon you,"
"and drink from the water of the stream that your Lord has placed beneath you."
"And be comforted and rejoice in your giving birth to me."
"And if you see any of the children of Adam who speaks to you or asks you about anything concerning your affair or the affair of your child,"
"then say, 'Indeed, I have obligated silence upon myself for the sake of Allah,'"
"'so I will not speak to any human being today.'"
“Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing.” (19:27)
“Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing.” (19:27)
When 'Isa said that to his mother,
her soul found peace and she submitted to the command of Allah.
She carried him until she brought him to her people.
When they saw Maryam and saw the child with her,
they said to her,
"O Maryam, you have indeed brought a strange thing,"
"and have committed a grave matter."
"O sister of Harun (Aaron),"
attributing her to righteousness,
for she was attributed to a man of her people.
"Your father was not a man of evil who committed indecencies,"
"nor was your mother unchaste."
When her people said that to her,
she gestured to them toward 'Isa, that they should speak to him.
Her people said to her,
"How can we speak to one who is in the cradle?"
“He spake: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet,” (19:30)
"And He has made me a prophet."
"And He has made me blessed wherever I am."
"And He has enjoined upon me prayer,"
"and enjoined upon me prayer and zakat,"
"as long as I live."
'Isa said to them, speaking about his mother,
"Indeed, I am a servant of Allah."
And He decreed, on the day He decreed the affairs of His creation,
that He would give me the Scripture,
and make me a prophet,
and make me a teacher of goodness wherever I may be.
And He decreed that He would enjoin upon me prayer,
by maintaining its boundaries,
and establishing it as He has obligated it upon me.
And He enjoined upon me the abandonment of sins,
and the avoidance of disobedience,
as long as I am alive and present in this world.
"And [He has made me] dutiful to my mother."
“And (hath made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and hath not made me arrogant, unblest.” (19:32)
"And peace be upon me the day I was born,"
"and the day I die,"
"and the day I am raised alive."
"And He has made me dutiful to my mother,"
"and has not made me a wretched tyrant against Allah."
Rather, He has humbled me to His obedience,
and made me humble.
And the security from Allah upon me from Shaytan and his soldiers on the day I was born,
that they should reach me as they reach those born at the time of birth, by pricking them.
And on the day I die, from the terror of the sight,
and on the day I am raised alive on the Day of Resurrection,
that the panic which befalls the people should befall me.
That is 'Isa ibn Maryam,
the word of truth about which they dispute.
This is he whose characteristics I have clarified for you,
and whose story I have informed you of, regarding the affair of 'Isa ibn Maryam.
The word of truth,
and the speech I have recited to you is the word of Allah and His report.
There is no report other than it in which delusion and doubt occur,
that which they dispute and differ over.
“It befitteth not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is.” (19:35)
Exalted is He.
When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, "Be," and it is.
Those who said that 'Isa is the son of Allah have lied,
and have fabricated a great falsehood against Him.
It is not befitting for Allah to take a son.
This is a declaration of Allah’s transcendence and an exoneration of Him from having what the disbelievers attributed to Him.
Those who say, "Isa is the son of Allah."
Allah merely initiated the creation of 'Isa from nothing,
because that is how He originates and invents things.
He only says, when He decrees the creation of a thing, "Be,"
and it becomes existent and brought into being.
"And indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him."
This is the straight path.
And I and you, O people, are all servants of Allah.
So worship Him alone, to the exclusion of others.
This which I have enjoined upon you is the straight path,
which whoever follows shall be saved.
But the factions differed among themselves.
So woe to those who disbelieve from the witnessing of a Great Day.
The dissenters differed regarding 'Isa,
and they became divided factions among his people.
The valley of Hell, which is called "Woe," is for those who disbelieve in Allah on the Day of Resurrection.
“See and hear them on the Day they come unto Us! yet the evil-doers are to-day in error manifest.” (19:38)
“See and hear them on the Day they come unto Us! yet the evil-doers are to-day in error manifest.” (19:38)
If they were in the world blind to seeing the truth,
and deaf to hearing the verses of His Book,
how well they will hear on the day they come before their Lord in the Hereafter,
and how well they will see on that day, when seeing and hearing will not benefit them.
But the disbelievers are in a state of straying from the path of truth.
It is clear that it is a deviation from the path of guidance and righteousness for whoever contemplates and reflects upon it.
“And warn them of the Day of anguish when the case hath been decided. Now they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not.” (19:39)
“And warn them of the Day of anguish when the case hath been decided. Now they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not.” (19:39)
And warn, O Muhammad, these polytheists who associate partners with Allah,
of the day of their regret and remorse for what they neglected regarding the right of Allah.
And the dwellings of the people of faith in Allah were elevated from Paradise,
and they were entered into the dwellings of the people of faith in Allah from the Fire.
What a great regret and remorse it is!
And these polytheists are in heedlessness of what Allah will do to them on the day they come to Him,
and they do not believe in the Resurrection and the rising from the dead.
“Lo! We, only We, inherit the earth and all who are thereon, and unto Us they are returned.” (19:40)
Do not let the denial of these polytheists grieve you, O Muhammad, regarding the truth you have brought them.
For to Us is their return,
and We are the Inheritor of the earth and whoever is upon it, through their passing away from it,
and its remaining with no owner other than Us.
Then upon Us is the recompense of every worker among them according to his deeds.
“And make mention (O Muhammad) in the Scripture of Abraham. Lo! he was a saint, a prophet.” (19:41)
Indeed, he was a man of truth, a prophet.
And mention, O Muhammad, in the Book of Allah, Ibrahim, the Khalil (Intimate Friend) of the Most Gracious.
Indeed, he was among the people of truth in his speech, his reports, and his promises.
And Allah had made him a prophet and revealed to him.
“When he said unto his father: O my father! Why worshippest thou that which heareth not nor seeth, nor can in aught avail thee?” (19:42)
Mention him when he said to his father,
"O my father, why do you worship an idol that neither hears a sound, nor sees anything, nor can avert any harm from you?"
“O my father! Lo! there hath come unto me of knowledge that which came not unto thee. So follow me, and I will lead thee on a right path.” (19:43)
Ibrahim said to his father,
"O my father, indeed, there has come to me of knowledge that which has not come to you."
"So accept my advice; I will guide you to the straight path,"
"in which none strays except the one who is stubborn."
“O my father! Serve not the devil. Lo! the devil is a rebel unto the Beneficent.” (19:44)
“O my father! Lo! I fear lest a punishment from the Beneficent overtake thee so that thou become a comrade of the devil.” (19:45)
"O my father, do not worship Shaytan; indeed, Shaytan has ever been disobedient to the Most Gracious."
"O my father, I fear that if you die upon the worship of Shaytan, a punishment from the punishment of Allah will touch you, and you will become a companion to Shaytan instead of Allah, and Allah will disown you, and you will perish."
He said, "Have you turned away from my gods, O Ibrahim? If you do not desist, I will surely stone you, so leave me for a long time."
The father of Ibrahim said to Ibrahim, "Are you turning away, O Ibrahim, from the worship of my gods? If you do not desist from mentioning them with evil, I will surely stone you with words, insults, and ugly speech; so leave me, and your honor will be safe from my punishment, and your body will be spared from my harm."
He said, "Peace be upon you. I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord; indeed, He has ever been gracious to me. And I will withdraw from you and what you invoke other than Allah, and I will call upon my Lord; perhaps I will not be, in my invocation of my Lord, unhappy."
"I have secured myself from you that I will return to you in what you dislike, but I will ask my Lord to cover your sins with His pardon; indeed, I have known my Lord to be kind to me, answering my supplication when I call upon Him. And I will avoid you and the worship of what you invoke other than Allah, the idols, and I will call upon my Lord with sincerity of worship to Him and singling Him out in Lordship; perhaps I will not be unhappy by the supplication of my Lord and His pardon."
"And He will give me what I ask of Him."
So when he withdrew from them and what they worshipped other than Allah, We gave him Ishaq (Isaac) and Ya'qub (Jacob), and each We made a prophet, and We gave them of Our mercy, and We granted them a high reputation of truth.
When Ibrahim withdrew from his people and the worship of what they used to worship other than Allah, We comforted his loneliness from their separation and replaced them with those who were better than them; so We gave him his son Ishaq and his son's son Ya'qub, the son of Ishaq, and each We made a prophet, and We provided for them all from Our mercy, and that is what He expanded for them in the world of the vastness of His provision.
And We provided them with good praise and a beautiful remembrance from the people.
“And make mention in the Scripture of Moses. Lo! he was chosen, and he was a messenger (of Allah), a prophet.” (19:51)
And mention, O Muhammad, in Our Book which We have revealed to you, Musa (Moses) ibn 'Imran.
And relate to your people that he was sincere, for Allah had purified him and chosen him for the Message and Prophethood.
And he was a messenger of Allah to his people from the Children of Israel, and a prophet to whom He sent him.
“We called him from the right slope of the Mount, and brought him nigh in communion.” (19:52)
“And We bestowed upon him of Our mercy his brother Aaron, a prophet (likewise).” (19:53)
And We called Musa from the side of the mountain to the right of Musa, and We brought him near, conversing.
And it is mentioned that Allah, whose glory is exalted, brought him near until he heard the scratching of the Pen.
And We granted to Musa, out of Our mercy, his brother Harun, and We supported him with his prophethood and aided him with it.
And it is mentioned that Isma'il (Ishmael) ibn Ibrahim would not break his promise to his Lord or His servants.
And he used to enjoin upon his family the establishment of prayer and the giving of zakat.
And he was, in the sight of his Lord, pleasing; his work was praiseworthy in what his Lord charged him with, not falling short in His obedience.
And mention in the Book Idris; indeed, he was a man of truth, a prophet, and We raised him to a high station.
And mention, O Muhammad, in this Book of Ours, Idris; indeed, he was a man of truth who would not speak a lie.
A prophet to whom We reveal of Our command what We will, and We raised him to a place of highness and elevation, so he was raised to the fourth heaven.
And of those whom We carried with Nuh (Noah), and of the descendants of Ibrahim and Isra'il (Jacob).
And of those whom We guided and chose.
“These are they unto whom Allah showed favour from among the prophets, of the seed of Adam and of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel, and from among those whom We guided and chose. When the revelations of the Beneficent were recited unto them, they fell down, adoring and weeping.” (19:58)
And of the descendants of Isra'il, and of those whom We guided to faith in Allah and the performance of His obedience.
And of those whom We chose and selected for Our Message and Our revelation.
When the signs of Allah and His proofs, which He revealed to them in His Books, are recited to those whom Allah has blessed,
they fall down in prostration to Allah, weeping.