Spiritual
Birth Of Mary, Mother Of Jesus in Quran
Mary (Maryam in Arabic) is the only woman who is mentioned in Quran by name.
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Prophet Imran (Peace be upon him) and his wife Hannah had no children and grew too old to have any. They accepted it as God’s decree and continued to be grateful to their Lord.
One day, Hannah saw a bird in a tree, feeding her young chick. The sight provoked Hannah’s longing for a child. She pleaded to the Lord to grant her a child.
The mighty Lord finally fulfilled her desire as a reward for her patience, prayers and strong faith.
When Hannah became aware of her pregnancy, she vowed to dedicate her only child to the service of Lord in the *Mosque of Jerusalem(Bayt-Al-Maqdis)*.
“Oh, 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” Quran 3:35
From her prayers, it was clear she was asking for a boy baby so he can stay in the mosque and spend all his lifetime in worship. She believed, female is not like male in strength and the commitment to worshiping Lord for it is no secret that a woman was impure for certain days in her life.
But Hannah to her disappointment delivered a female baby as willed by God.
She said,
“My Lord, I have delivered a female.” “And the male is not like the female. I have named her Maryam(Mary) and I seek refuge for her in You and for her descendants from Satan, the expelled”
Quran 3:36Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) said,
“No person is born but that he is pricked by Satan and he cries from the touch of Satan, except for Mary and her son.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3248, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2366
Even before the birth of Mary, her father Imran had passed away. Mary grew up under the care of her maternal aunt’s husband Zachariya. Lord made Zachariya her guardian to be in his righteous company so she could learn from his tremendous knowledge and spiritual conduct.
Mary lived in a private chamber in the mosque(Al-Mihrab) spending all her time in worship, fulfilling her mother’s promise to Lord.
Every time, Zachariya entered Al-Mihrab, he would find with her, the fruits of summer during winter and fruits of winter during summer.
Seeing this, Zachariya would ask,
“O Mary! Where have you gotten this?”
She would say, “This is from Allah(Lord)”
So her Lord (Allah) accepted her with goodly acceptance. He made her(Mary)grow in a good manner and put her under the care of Zakariya (Zachariya). Every time he entered Al-Mihrab to (visit) her , he found her supplied with sustenance. He said: “O Maryam (Mary)! From where have you got this?” She said, “This is from Allah.” Verily, Allah provides sustenance to whom He wills, without limit.”
Quran 3:37
***
This story is written by the guidance of Tafsir of Quran verses 35–37 of Chapter 3.
Chapter 3 is called Surah Al-Imran, named after Prophet Imran, the father of Mary.
Tafsir is the grammatical, historical, allegorical and traditional interpretations of the Quran for clear understanding.
Every prophet’s name is suffixed by *peace be upon him* out of love and respect.
