In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The story of Maryam, daughter of ‘Imran.
Peace be upon her.
The beginning of the pregnancy of the wife of ‘Imran with Maryam, peace be upon her.
The story of Maryam begins
with her mother, the wife of ‘Imran, becoming pregnant with her.
The wife of ‘Imran conceived her after having lost hope of bearing children.
Her husband, ‘Imran, passed away while she was pregnant,
before she gave birth to Maryam.
The family of ‘Imran are among those whom Allah, the Exalted, chose over all the worlds.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham and the Family of 'Imran above (all His) creatures.” (3:33)
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Allah informs us that He chose these households over all the people of the earth.
He chose Adam, peace be upon him,
creating him with His own hand,
breathing into him from His spirit,
commanding the angels to prostrate to him,
teaching him the names of all things,
and settling him in Paradise,
before sending him down from it for a wisdom known to Him.
He chose Nuh, peace be upon him,
making him the first messenger sent to the people of the earth,
when people had begun to worship idols,
and associated with Allah that for which He had sent down no authority.
He took vengeance for him after he had spent a long time among his people,
calling them to Allah by night and by day,
secretly and openly,
yet that only increased them in flight.
So he prayed against them,
and Allah drowned them to the last one,
with none saved among them except those who followed him in the religion with which Allah had sent him.
He chose the family of Ibrahim,
among whom is the master of mankind and the seal of the prophets absolutely,
Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And the family of ‘Imran.
The ‘Imran intended here
is the father of Maryam, daughter of ‘Imran,
the mother of ‘Isa ibn Maryam, peace be upon him.
Abu Zahrah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The meaning of "choosing" (al-istifa’)
is to seek the elite or the best of everything.
That is why they said
that its meaning is
that He chose them, preferring them over others.
In the expression of "choosing,"
there is an indication that Adam and Nuh
“Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham and the Family of 'Imran above (all His) creatures.” (3:33)
are the elite of mankind.
The use of "over" (ala) in the saying of Allah, the Exalted,
"over the worlds,"
is an indication of the meaning of preference over other people.
Thus, they are the elite of mankind,
and they are preferred over all people.
The family of Ibrahim
are the family of Ibrahim and their descendants,
whether they are those who sought refuge in Makkah,
among whom was the elite of creation, Muhammad, peace be upon him,
or those who were in the Holy Land,
among whom were the prophets who came after.
The family of ‘Imran
are the descendants of ‘Imran,
who is the father of Maryam the Virgin.
And from the descendants of ‘Imran
is the Messiah, peace be upon him,
whom the Lord of the worlds created with a word from Him,
which is "Be."
In this lineage,
there is an indication that creation has never been without a guide to lead it to the truth
and to a straight path.
Allah, the Exalted and Most High,
mentioned the details of the lives of those He chose from these noble households
so that we may take them as examples,
and take lessons from their lives for our own.
Al-Sa‘di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
This indicates that He chose them
because of what He knew of their conditions that necessitated that,
out of His grace and generosity.
Among the benefits and wisdom in His narrating to us the stories of these chosen ones
is that we should love them and follow their example,
and ask Allah to grant us success in that which He granted them success,
and that we should never cease to reproach ourselves for lagging behind them,
and for our lack of possessing their beautiful qualities and virtues.
The wife of ‘Imran was from a household that Allah chose over the worlds.
This is the first merit of Maryam, peace be upon her,
for she was from the lineage of this house and was raised in it,
a house of obedience and worship.
This is a lesson for every mother who strives to raise her offspring in goodness and righteousness:
to begin establishing her married life upon the obedience of Allah.
The first step of this foundation
is the correct choice of the suitor,
one who meets the specifications mentioned by the Prophet, peace be upon him, for a righteous husband,
which is in his saying, peace be upon him:
"If there comes to you one whose character and religion you are pleased with, then marry him;
if you do not do so, there will be tribulation on earth and great corruption."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
Unfortunately,
some erroneous ideas have spread among the young women of this generation,
even those among them who possess goodness and righteousness,
which is that she does not want a man who shows clear adherence to his religion,
describing him as "extremist."
She does not want to be deprived of the pleasures of this world,
because she thinks that this type of man
will prevent her from attending contemporary entertainment venues and programs.
She wants to live her life,
and enjoy this world,
and she does not want someone to restrict her, as she claims.
This is the beginning of deviation in married life.
For such a young woman,
who carries such erroneous ideas in her head,
cannot achieve great results from her marriage
to a man who is as lax as she is in his religion.
She does not want "extremism,"
and "extremism" to her
means adhering to the teachings of Islam,
and weighing everything in life on the scale of the Shari‘ah.
And because the forbidden things in this era are many,
she sees that this man refrains from doing them,
and does not yield to the pressure of reality and society,
and what the people of desires want,
so he is an extremist in her view.
This bitter truth
is not realized by the young woman, unfortunately,
until it is too late,
unless Allah wills otherwise for her.
The wife of ‘Imran became pregnant
after her pregnancy had been delayed and she longed for a child.
So, as part of her gratitude to Allah, the Almighty,
for this pregnancy,
she vowed what was in her womb to Allah, the Almighty,
to be devoted to His worship and the service of Bayt al-Maqdis.
So she said:
“(Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!” (3:35)
“(Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!” (3:35)
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Its meaning is:
"I have made a vow to You, O Lord,
that the one in my womb is for You, dedicated to Your worship."
He means by that:
"I have confined him to Your service and the service of Your sanctuary in the temple,
freed from the service of everything other than You,
devoted exclusively to You."
And Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"She vowed that he would be dedicated,"
meaning pure and devoted to worship
and to the service of Bayt al-Maqdis.
In this is a lesson for every ambitious woman
regarding the righteousness of her offspring:
to begin her pregnancy with a righteous intention
and a righteous prayer for her offspring,
just as the Prophet of Allah, Sulayman, peace be upon him, did.
He intended to have relations with ninety wives,
with the intention that they would bear horsemen who would fight in the cause of Allah.
For it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Sulayman said:
'I will surely go around to ninety wives tonight,
each of whom will bring forth a horseman who will fight in the cause of Allah.'
His companion said to him: 'Say: If Allah wills.'
But he did not say: 'If Allah wills.'
So he went around to all of them,
and none of them became pregnant except for one woman,
who brought forth half a human being.
By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad,
if he had said: 'If Allah wills,'
they would have all fought in the cause of Allah as horsemen."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
So what is your intention for your pregnancy?
And what is your ambition for your offspring?
Is this intention and ambition limited only to the worldly life of the newborn,
or is it primarily for their Hereafter,
with the worldly life following as a consequence?
Reflect on this, please, carefully.
The mother of the wife of ‘Imran
vowed that her newborn would be dedicated to the worship of Allah and the service of Bayt al-Maqdis.
Do you have an intention for a newborn who will liberate Bayt al-Maqdis from the filth of the Jews?
We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.