Quranic Sciences

The Angel informs Mary about her giving birth to Jesus-The Miraculous Birth of Jesus as a sign of Allah-Jesus announces his Apostleship from the cradle itself

16. " And mention in the Book about Mary when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place."

17. " So she took a veil (to screen herself) apart from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit (Holy Spirit) that presented himself to her a perfect man."

Commentary

The Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) said that Mary was one of the four typical godly women.

The Arabic term /nabaoa/ means: 'to throw away something inattentively', while the Qur'anic word /'intibao/ is used for 'seeking retirement from people'. Since Mary was dedicated to 'The Remote Mosque', she had chosen a corner in the east of the mosque for herself.

After the statement of the explanation about Yahya (John), through these holy verses, the Qur'an refers to the story of Jesus (a.s.) and his mother's fate, because there is a close connection between these two occurrence.

The birth of Yahya (John) to an aged father and a barren mother, was a wonderful thing, but the birth of Jesus, from a mother without a father, was something even more marvelous.

It is surprising, of course, for a person be given wisdom and prophethood in childhood, but it is more surprising than that that he, as a baby, speaks in cradle concerning the Book and prophecy.

However, both of them are signs of the Power of Allah, the Exalted, and, they both concerned people who had a very close blood relationship with each other, because John's mother was Mary's maternal aunt both of whom were barren and longed for a righteous child. The verse says:

" And mention in the Book about Mary when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place."

In fact she humbly and anonymously withdrew from her family and went to a place in the temple free from any disturbance in order to pray and to tell her secrets to Allah.

At this time, Mary put a veil between herself and those people to screen herself away from them so that her private place could be suitable for worship and away from the prying eyes of people. The verse says:

" So she took a veil (to screen herself) apart from them. …"

Then one of the great angels (Holy Spirit), in the form of a perfect handsome man, without any defect, presented himself to Mary and, by the might of Allah, fulfilled his mission. It was just as Allah, the Most High, in the Qur'an says:

"Blessed be He in Whose hand is Domination; and He is All-Powerful over everything." 8

The verse under discussion continues saying:

" …Then We sent unto her Our Spirit (Holy Spirit) that presented himself to her a perfect man."

Notes:

8. Sura Al-Mulk, No. 67, verse 1

Adopted from the book : "The Light of the Holy Qur'an; Interpretation of Surah Maryam" by : "Sayyid Kamal Faghih Imani and a Group of Muslim Scholars"