In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
"The Gentle Commentary
on the Book of Introductory Profiles
to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah Maryam.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise is due to Allah,
and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
"My Lord, make things easy and help!"
We are still with "The Gentle Commentary
on the Introductory Profiles,"
and with Surah Maryam, concerning which I have three reflective pauses.
The first pause
concerns the placement of the surah,
which is one of the standard entry points
in the book, as you know.
It pertains to explaining the correlation
between this surah and the one preceding it,
and the primary reference for this
is *Tanaasuq ad-Durar* by as-Suyuti,
as I have mentioned before.
He stated that it is the nineteenth surah
in the sequence of the Mushaf.
Among the correlations with al-Kahf is that its stories
comprise wondrous events,
yet the stories of Maryam are even more wondrous.
Surah al-Kahf contains wondrous
things, but
the existence of a child without
a father is far more wondrous.
This more wondrous story
was preluded by a wondrous one as well,
namely the story of Zakariyya.
It is as though the story of Zakariyya
paved the way for the story of Maryam,
and the stories of al-Kahf
paved the way for the stories
of Maryam—meaning the narrative
at the beginning of Surah Maryam,
unlike the story of Ibrahim
and those after him.
Here, the question arises:
these surahs were not revealed in this sequential order
when they were revealed to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
so how can it be claimed that it began with the wondrous
and then moved to the more wondrous?
If we consider the chronological order of revelation according to the well-known view,
we would find that Maryam was revealed before
al-Kahf. To this I say:
First, scholars
have two approaches. Some scholars hold
that there is no need
for an exegete to occupy himself
with looking into
the rationales behind the arrangement of surahs
in the Mushaf,
among whom is at-Tahir ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him.
Other scholars attempt
to discover these thematic connections,
fully aware that it is a matter of ijtihad,
such as as-Suyuti
and al-Biqa'i, among others.
Therefore, discussing
the sequence of the surahs in the Mushaf
is not a matter unanimously agreed upon
as being something one ought
to delve into.
That is the first point.
Second, when we look at
the chronological history of the revelation of the surahs,
the explanations focus
on how the discourse corresponds
to the immediate contextual requirements of the revelation of that surah.
But when we look at
their sequence in the Mushaf,
we examine the arrangement ordained and chosen
by Allah for this Qur'an,
so that it remains for the Ummah of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
perpetually preserved in this order.
These are two distinct matters.
For instance, we say that Surah al-'Alaq
was revealed
first,
or that the opening of Surah al-'Alaq was revealed first;
so we examine its suitability in being
the very first thing the Prophet, peace be upon him, heard.
This is a connection related
to the chronology of the surah's revelation.
Yet there is another connection: how Surah al-'Alaq elaborated
upon
certain matters mentioned in Surah at-Tin.
“Surely We created man of the best stature” (95:4)
And regarding "Recite!", he said...
“Createth man from a clot.” (96:2)
Thus, there are two distinct perspectives,
as was clearly pointed out
by al-Biqa'i in his Tafsir.
There is no contradiction between the two matters:
each verse was suited to the time
in which it was revealed, and then the surah
is suited to its canonical placement
in the Mushaf—which is,
as I said, a matter of scholarly deduction.
The second pause
concerns
the only woman who
was explicitly mentioned by name in the Qur'an,
and after whom this surah was named:
Surah Maryam.
The most remarkable thing is that she is not from the Household of the Prophet, peace be upon him;
she is not of the family of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
nor from the Muhammadan prophetic household,
nor is she an Arab,
nor is she from the female Companions, for example.
Rather, she is a Muslim woman
who guarded her chastity.
Truth be told, I have not come across—
and this may be due to my own shortcoming
or something slipping my mind—
I have not seen an in-depth study
devoted to this woman whom
Allah honored
in a manner He did not honor any other woman in all creation.
For no woman was named, not even the wife of Pharaoh,
despite her immense virtue, as He said:
"And Allah presents an example of those who believed: the wife of Pharaoh."
Yet He did not explicitly state her name,
nor did He explicitly name any
of the Mothers of the Believers.
The virtue of all
of them is established;
the virtue of all those noble women
is undeniable, yet
this woman was singled out
with this unique distinction.
It is therefore incumbent that one seeks to comprehend
the true station of this woman,
her worth, and her attributes.
Remarkably, some people
have come to imagine
that Christians have a greater claim to Maryam than we do.
This is completely false, for Christians hold
an improper belief concerning her,
attributing to her that which you well know,
things that should not even be mentioned.
As for us, we believe that she is
a created servant having no share
in divinity whatsoever,
and that Allah has taken neither a companion nor a son.
Furthermore, naming
this surah Maryam
serves as a form of invitation
to Christians, for Christians
love Maryam
even prior to their Islam. Thus, when
one embraces Islam and learns that Maryam
is in the Qur'an, or when called to Islam
and sees how revered Maryam is in the Qur'an,
this profoundly draws him
to Islam. I recall that one Christian,
upon embracing Islam, remarked:
"I gained Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
without losing the Messiah."
He may have authored a book on that,
and he posted a lengthy video on YouTube.
Thus, when Christians
realize that we deeply honor
Maryam and 'Isa, this leaves an impact
on them, just as it was among the things
that moved the Negus, may Allah have mercy on him.
So, this is the second pause,
and I urge researchers
to produce studies on
Maryam, peace be upon her.
Such study should not merely consist of compiling
the verses, but of deeply contemplating them
and extracting their subtleties,
for they are numerous verses across
various surahs, as you know.
The third and final pause
concerns
what has been transmitted regarding the occasion of revelation.
He mentioned that an occasion of revelation was recorded for it,
one of which is that the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said
to Jibril: "What prevents you from visiting us
more often than you do?"
Whereupon there was revealed:
“We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord. Unto Him belongeth all that is before us and all that is behind us and all that is between those two, and thy Lord was never forgetful -” (19:64)
"To Him belongs whatever is before
us and whatever is behind us."
I wanted to dwell upon this occasion because you will notice
that the verses preceding it
and following it
do not relate to it
directly. The opening of the surah
up to the prostration describes the righteous servants of Allah,
while what follows the prostration refutes
the disbelievers and clarifies
their deviation from the straight path.
And these verses were revealed
for this specific reason; therefore,
keeping this context in mind
helps one
avoid forced interpretations.
Some scholars attempt
to find an intricate textual link between this verse
and the verse directly
preceding it,
whereas, in reality, it is distinct from it
and was placed here by divine command.
Among those who take a balanced approach regarding
textual correlations and take such aspects into account
is Sidi al-Tahir Ibn Ashur.
Hence, he remarked here
regarding "And we descend not except by the command of your Lord,"
saying that it is the conjunction of one passage to another,
despite the change in addressee.
In the preceding verse, "Then there succeeded after them
an evil generation who neglected prayer..."
he stated: it is the coupling of one narrative to another,
despite the shift in addressee.
By "story" he does not mean a literal tale; rather,
it signifies connecting one theme to another theme
alongside a shift in the addressee.
And Allah commanded His Messenger
to recite it here
because it was revealed to form part of the Qur'an,
just as he, may Allah have mercy on him, stated.
This is an essential point, and alongside it lies an insight
which I will dwell upon briefly,
apologizing for taking too much of your time.
These verses that appear
as parenthetical insertions,
as in this verse—and an even more prominent example—
“Stir not thy tongue herewith to hasten it.” (75:16)
are like "Do not hasten with it..."; the verses before and after it
in Surah al-Qiyamah discuss
other matters, and then the address shifts to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And in other surahs,
there are indeed similar parallels,
where the Prophet, peace be upon him, is addressed amidst the verses.
This reminds us
of the lofty status of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and that he was the very first person addressed by the Qur'an.
It was descending directly upon his heart,
conveying a general address to mankind,
and then suddenly directing a particular instruction specifically to him.
We should never lose sight of this reality,
for it is among the things that illustrate
the supreme stature of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and keeps his presence vivid
in our minds.
When we say in the prayer, "Peace be upon you,
O Prophet,"
and as we recite the Qur'an,
suddenly, amidst the deep absorption
in the descriptions of the Resurrection, we find
that we hear Allah saying to His Prophet:
"Do not move your tongue with it." We immediately recall
this noble Prophet, to whom Allah
said: "So how will it be when We bring
from every nation a witness,
and We bring you as a witness against these people?"
He will come as a witness over us,
having conveyed the message and delivered this Book
to his Ummah.
We must therefore hold
ourselves accountable regarding how we engage
with this Book,
and remember that he, peace and blessings be upon him,
is a witness over us.
I ask Allah to grant us all success in doing what He loves and is pleased with.
May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad
and upon all his family and Companions,
and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.