In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The story of Maryam, daughter of ‘Imran.
Peace be upon her.
The pristine history of Maryam.
Before judging individuals upon hearing shocking news about them,
we need to know their history,
and compare it with the shocking report we have heard.
This methodology
has been explained to us by our Lord, glory be to Him, in detail in Surah al-Nur,
in the verses regarding the exoneration of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
However, in the story of Maryam, the matter is quite different.
Maryam, peace be upon her, came to them carrying a child on her shoulder,
while she was unmarried.
This was not a report they heard from others;
rather, it was an event they witnessed with their own eyes.
Therefore, her people denounced this action, which appeared in such a light,
and of which one could only think ill.
So they said to her:
“Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing.” (19:27)
“O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.” (19:28)
The history of Maryam, peace be upon her,
testifies to a virtuous path in life,
which did not align with what they saw before them.
For this reason, they denounced this action of hers with the utmost severity,
and reminded her of the righteous path of her family in this life.
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Regarding His saying:
“O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.” (19:28)
He says:
"Your father was not a man of evil who committed indecencies,"
“O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.” (19:28)
He says:
"And your mother was not an unchaste woman."
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Meaning, you are from a good, pure household,
known for righteousness, worship, and asceticism.
So how could this have come from you?
Al-Sa‘di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Your parents were nothing but righteous and safe from evil,
especially this evil to which they are referring.
Their intent was:
How could you be contrary to their description,
and bring forth that which they did not?
For offspring, in most cases, follow one another,
in righteousness or its opposite.
Thus, they were astonished, according to what was in their hearts,
as to how this occurred from her.
Al-Tahir Ibn ‘Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
They intended to condemn her,
yet they spoke words that were explicitly a praise of her parents,
implying that her nature should have been like theirs.
Thus, the people of Maryam, peace be upon her,
were pointing out several meanings to her with these words.
First:
That you are from a righteous house;
your father was not known for evil,
nor your mother for unchastity.
So from where did you acquire this heinous act?
This is a merit for the houses of the righteous and a praise for them,
in that they are a righteous incubator where only righteousness grows.
Just as it is a warning that the corruption of offspring raised in the homes of the righteous
only comes from an external cause,
or from an external environment,
such as bad companions and the like.
Second:
They are saying to her:
You are from a righteous house,
so it does not befit you to contradict their good conduct,
because in contradicting it, there is harm to them,
and this is not part of being dutiful to them.
Third:
The people of Maryam, peace be upon her, used
this method of severe denunciation and explicit rebuke
with the goal of censuring her,
so that she would not continue on the path they suspected her of.
Maryam, peace be upon her—and far be it from her—was not the evil they suspected.
But they did not know, even at that moment,
any other interpretation for what they saw from her.
In this is a warning to every young woman:
that a person’s actions have implications,
many of which are agreed upon by the general public in society.
So do not demand that society interpret your actions differently from what people have agreed upon.
Rather, it is your duty to be cautious in your actions,
for people only see the outward appearance of your deeds.
As for the inner states, none knows them except Allah, exalted be He in His majesty.
It has come in a hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"If I were to stone anyone without clear proof, I would have stoned so-and-so,"
for suspicion had appeared in her speech and her demeanor,
and in those who visited her.
Narrated by Ibn Majah.
The hadith indicates, firstly:
That a young woman’s speech indicates her moral level.
If it contains what indicates poor character,
people will think evil of her.
Included in her "speech"
is everything she writes or speaks on social media today.
Secondly:
That a young woman’s demeanor, likewise,
indicates the level of her modesty and shyness.
So a young woman should not blame people if they attack her modesty
when she goes out displaying her beauty (tabarruj),
and wears what violates modesty.
Included in this
is what a young woman publishes of her own photos,
or photos of others that she approves of,
and places on her profile on social media.
For all these actions signal what is circulating in her soul and what she desires,
even if she does not act upon it.
Thirdly:
That whoever visits a young woman who is not her mahram (unmarriageable kin),
and she mixes with him or is in seclusion with him,
indicates the level of her chastity.
Her seclusion with a young man who is a stranger to her in the field of study or work,
her mixing with him, riding in a car with him,
or sitting with him in private places like a café and others,
all of this drives people to think ill of her,
as they have no interpretation for such actions
other than evil suspicion.
The outward appearance of your action might be different from its inner reality,
and here you are required to clarify so that people do not think ill of you.
You have a good example in the action of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in the incident with Safiyyah, Mother of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, with him at night.
For ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn reported
that Safiyyah bint Huyayy, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, informed him
that she came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to visit him
while he was in i‘tikaf (seclusion) in the mosque
during the last ten nights of Ramadan.
She spoke with him for a while after the night prayer,
then she stood up to return.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stood up with her to escort her back.
When they reached the door of the mosque,
which was by the dwelling of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
two men from the Ansar passed by them.
They greeted the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and then hurried on.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to them:
"Slow down,
it is only Safiyyah bint Huyayy."
They said:
"Subhan Allah, O Messenger of Allah!"
And it was heavy upon them that he said that.
He said:
"Indeed, the devil flows through the son of Adam like blood,
and I feared that he might cast evil into your hearts."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
This incident indicates that the time was in the darkness of the night,
and the scene indicates that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
was standing with a woman.
So the situation was suspicious.
And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, explained to us
that such suspicious situations are exploited by the devil
to cast evil into the heart of the one looking at the situation.
This is the habit of the devil.
The remedy for this is to remove suspicion with a clear explanation.
This great principle
was mentioned in the hadith of Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him,
from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"And beware of that for which one must apologize."
Narrated by al-Tabarani.
Meaning, do not commit an act for which you need to apologize.
Some of the wise said:
"Beware of that for which one must apologize,
and that which one is ashamed to mention,
for one only apologizes for a sin,
and one is only ashamed of what is indecent."
The life of Maryam, peace be upon her, before this situation
all points to her righteousness and the honor Allah bestowed upon her.
So the occurrence of this situation, contrary to her pristine history,
was the cause of the severe denunciation from her people.
So how did Maryam, peace be upon her, face that?
We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.