The wife of `Imran mentioned here is the mother of Maryam, and her name is
Hannah bint Faqudh. Muhammad bin Ishaq mentioned that Hannah could not have
children and that one day, she saw a bird feeding its chick. She wished she
could have children and supplicated to Allah to grant her offspring. Allah
accepted her supplication, and when her husband slept with her, she became
pregnant. She vowed to make her child concentrate on worship and serving Bayt
Al-Maqdis (the Masjid in Jerusalem), when she became aware that she was
pregnant. She said,
(O my Lord! I have vowed to You what is in my womb to be dedicated for Your
services, so accept this from me. Verily, You are the All-Hearer, the
All-Knowing.) meaning, You hear my supplication and You know my intention. She
did not know then what she would give birth to, a male or a female.
(Then when she gave birth to her, she said: "O my Lord! I have given birth to
a female child, ـ and Allah knew better what she bore.)
(And the male is not like the female,) in strength and the commitment to
worship Allah and serve the Masjid in Jerusalem.
(And I have named her Maryam,) thus, testifying to the fact that it is
allowed to give a name to the newly born the day it is born, as is apparent from
the Ayah, which is also a part of the law of those who were before us. Further,
the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah mentioned that the Prophet said,
«وُلِدَ لِيَ اللَّيْلَةَ
وَلَدٌ، سَمَّيْتُهُ بِاسْمِ أَبِي إِبْرَاهِيم»
(This night, a son was born for me and I called him by my father's name,
Ibrahim.) Al-Bukhari and Muslim collected this Hadith.
They also recorded that Anas bin Malik brought his newborn brother to the
Messenger of Allah who chewed a piece of date and put it in the child's mouth
and called him `Abdullah. Other new born infants were also given names on the
day they were born.
Qatadah narrated that Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, that Samurah bin Jundub said
that the Messenger of Allah said,
«كُلُّ غُلَامٍ رَهِينٌ بِعَقِيقَتِهِ، يُذْبَحُ عَنْهُ يَوْمَ سَابِعِهِ، وَيُسَمَّى وَيُحْلَقُ رَأَسُه»
(Every new born boy held in security by his `Aqiqah, until his seventh day, a
sacrifice is offered on his behalf, he is given a name, and the hair on his head
is shaved.)
This Hadith was collected by Ahmad and the collectors of the Sunan, and was
graded Sahih by At-Tirmidhi. We should mention that another narration for this
Hadith contained the wording, "and blood is offered on his behalf,'' which is
more famous and established than the former narration, and Allah knows best.
Allah's statement that Maryam's mother said,
("...And I seek refuge with You for her and for her offspring from Shaytan,
the outcast.'') means, that she sought refuge with Allah from the evil of
Shaytan, for her and her offspring, i.e., `Isa, peace be upon him. Allah
accepted her supplication, for `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Abu Hurayrah said
that the Messenger of Allah said,
«مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ إِلَّا مَسَّهُ الشَّيْطَانُ حِينَ يُولَدُ، فَيَسْتَهِلُّ صَارِخًا مِنْ مَسِّهِ إِيَّاهُ، إِلَّا مَرْيَمَ وَابْنَهَا»
(Every newly born baby is touched by Shaytan when it is born, and the baby
starts crying because of this touch, except Maryam and her son.)
Abu Hurayrah then said, "Read if you will,
[وِإِنِّى أُعِيذُهَا
بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ الشَّيْطَـنِ الرَّجِيمِ]
(And I seek refuge with You for her and for her offspring from Shaytan, the
outcast).'' The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith.
(37. So her Lord (Allah) accepted her with goodly acceptance. He made her
grow in a good manner and put her under the care of Zakariyya. Every time he
entered the Mihrab to (visit) her, he found her supplied with sustenance. He
said: "O Maryam! From where have you gotten this'' She said, "This is from
Allah.'' Verily, Allah provides sustenance to whom He wills, without limit.)
Maryam Grows Up; Her Honor is with Allah
Allah states that He has accepted Maryam as a result of her mother's vow and that He,
(made her grow in a good manner) meaning, made her conduct becoming, her mannerism delightful and He made her well liked among people. He also made her accompany the righteous people, so that she learned righteousness, knowledge and religion.
(And put her under the care of Zakariyya) meaning, Allah made Zakariyya her
sponsor. Allah made Zakariyya Maryam's guardian for her benefit, so that she
would learn from his tremendous knowledge and righteous conduct. He was the
husband of her maternal aunt, as Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Jarir stated, or her
brother-in-law, as mentioned in the Sahih,
«فَإِذَا بِيَحْيَى
وَعِيسى، وَهُمَا ابْنَا الْخَالَة»
(I saw John and `Isa, who are maternal cousins.)
We should state that in general terms, what Ibn Ishaq said is plausible, and
in this case, Maryam was under the care of her maternal aunt. The Two Sahihs
recorded that the Messenger of Allah decided that `Amarah, the daughter of
Hamzah, be raised by her maternal aunt, the wife of Ja`far bin Abi Talib,
saying,
«الْخَالَةُ
بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْأُم»
(The maternal aunt is just like the mother.)
Allah then emphasizes Maryam's honor and virtue at the place of worship she
attended,
(Every time he entered the Mihrab to (visit) her, he found her supplied with sustenance.)
Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Abu Ash-Sha`tha, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, `Atiyah Al-`Awfi and As-Suddi said, "He would find with her the fruits of the summer during winter, and the fruits of the winter during summer.'' When Zakariyya would see this;
(He said: "O Maryam! From where have you gotten this'') meaning, where did you get these fruits from
(She said, "This is from Allah.'' Verily, Allah provides sustenance to whom He wills, without limit.)
The Virtue of Maryam Over the Women of Her Time
Allah states that the angels spoke to Maryam by His command and told her that
He chose her because of her service to Him, because of her modesty, honor,
innocence, and conviction. Allah also chose her because of her virtue over the
women of the world. At-Tirmidhi recorded that `Ali bin Abi Talib said, "I heard
the Messenger of Allah say,
«خَيْرُ نِسَائِهَا
مَرْيَمُ بِنْتُ عِمْرَانَ، وَخَيْرُ نِسَائِهَا خَدِيجَةُ بِنْتُ
خُوَيْلِد»
(The best woman (in her time) was Maryam, daughter of `Imran, and the best
woman (of the Prophet's time) is Khadijah (his wife), daughter of Khuwaylid.)''
The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith. Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Musa
Al-Ash`ari said that the Messenger of Allah said,
«كَمُلَ مِنَ
الرِّجَالِ كَثِيرٌ، وَلَمْ يَكْمُلْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلَّا مَرْيَمُ بِنْتُ
عِمْرَانَ وَ آسِيَةُ امْرَأَةُ فِرْعَوْن»
(Many men achieved perfection, but among women, only Maryam the daughter of
`Imran and Asiah, the wife of Fir`awn, achieved perfection.)
The Six -- with the exception of Abu Dawud - recorded it. Al-Bukhari's
wording for it reads,
«كَمُلَ مِنَ
الرِّجَالِ كَثِيرٌ، وَلَمْ يَكْمُلْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلَّا آسِيَةُ امْرَأَةُ
فِرْعَوْنَ، وَمَرْيَمُ بِنْتُ عِمْرَانَ، وَإِنَّ فَضْلَ عَائِشَةَ عَلَى
النِّسَاءِ كَفَضْلِ الثَّرِيدِ عَلى سَائِرِ الطَّعَام»
(Many men reached the level of perfection, but no woman reached such a level
except Asiah, the wife of Fir`awn, and Maryam, the daughter of `Imran. The
superiority of `A'ishah (his wife) to other women, is like the superiority of
Tharid (meat and bread dish) to other meals.)
We mentioned the various chains of narration and wordings for this Hadith in
the story of `Isa, son of Maryam, in our book, Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, all the
thanks are due to Allah.
Allah states that the angels commanded Maryam to increase acts of worship,
humbleness, submission, prostration, bowing, and so forth, so that she would
acquire what Allah had decreed for her, as a test for her. Yet, this test also
earned her a higher grade in this life and the Hereafter, for Allah demonstrated
His might by creating a son inside her without male intervention. Allah said,
("O Maryam! Submit yourself with obedience (Aqnuti) and prostrate yourself,
and bow down along with Ar-Raki`in.'')
As for Qunut (Aqnuti in the Ayah), it means to submit with humbleness. In
another Ayah, Allah said,
(Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, and all
surrender with obedience (Qanitun) to Him.) [2:116]
Allah next said to His Messenger after He mentioned Maryam's story,
(This is a part of the news of the Ghayb which We reveal.) "and narrate to
you (O Muhammad ), ''
(You were not with them, when they cast lots with their pens as to which of
them should be charged with the care of Maryam; nor were you with them when they
disputed.) meaning, "You were not present, O Muhammad, when this occurred, so
you cannot narrate what happened to the people as an eye witness. Rather, Allah
disclosed these facts to you as if you were a witness, when they conducted a
lottery to choose the custodian of Maryam, seeking the reward of this good
deed.''
Ibn Jarir recorded that `Ikrimah said, "Maryam's mother left with Maryam,
carrying her in her infant cloth, and took her to the rabbis from the offspring
of Aaron, the brother of Musa. They were responsible for taking care of Bayt
Al-Maqdis (the Masjid) at that time, just as there were those who took care of
the Ka`bah. Maryam's mother said to them, `Take this child whom I vowed [to
serve the Masjid], I have set her free, since she is my daughter, for no
menstruating woman should enter the Masjid, and I shall not take her back home.'
They said, `She is the daughter of our Imam,' as `Imran used to lead them in
prayer, `who took care of our sacrificial rituals.' Zakariyya said, `Give her to
me, for her maternal aunt is my wife.' They said, `Our hearts cannot bear that
you take her, for she is the daughter of our Imam.' So they conducted a lottery
with the pens with which they wrote the Tawrah, and Zakariyya won the lottery
and took Maryam into his care.'''. `Ikrimah, As-Suddi, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi` bin
Anas, and several others said that the rabbis went into the Jordan river and
conducted a lottery there, deciding to throw their pens into the river. The pen
that remained afloat and idle would indicate that its owner would take care of
Maryam. When they threw their pens into the river, the water took all the pens
under, except Zakariyya's pen, which remained afloat in its place. Zakariyya was
also their master, chief, scholar, Imam and Prophet, may Allah's peace and
blessings be on him and the rest of the Prophets.