The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 47
PT. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN CH. 3 يُمَرْيَمُ اقْنُتِى لِرَبِّكِ وَاسْجُدِي وَارْكَعِي O Mary, be obedient to thy. 44 مَعَ الرَّكِعِينَ Lord and prostrate thyself and worship God alone with those who worship. '333A ذلِكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهِ إِلَيْكَ This is of the tidings of. 45 things unseen which We reveal وَمَا كُنْتَ لَدَيْهِمْ إِذْ يُلْقُونَ أَقْلَامَهُمْ to thee. And thou wast not with أَيُّهُمْ يَكْفُلُ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا كُنْتَ them when they cast their arrows, bas to which of them should be the guardian of Mary, nor wast thou with them when they disputed with another. 334 one "11:50; 12:103. b3:38. لَدَيْهِمْ إِذْ يَخْتَصِمُونَ of Jesus (Mal. 3:1; 4:5), the Quran in the plural number is also not has first mentioned the prophecy purposeless. If the mere conveying of relating to him and then has a message was intended, only one proceeded to give a detailed account angel could act as a message-bearer. of the birth and prophethood of Jesus along with a brief mention of his mother, Mary, which is meant as a preliminary to the real subject. In the present verse the word "chosen" has been used twice. This is not without purpose. In the first instance the word has been used in regard to Mary without reference to any other person, signifying her exalted position absolutely; while in the second case it has been used to express her high position in relation to other women of her time. It need not be mentioned that, according to the usage of the Quran, the word 'alamin (peoples) does not here refer to all times and all ages, but only to the specific time in which Mary lived. See also 2:48. The use of the word (angels) 487 Why then did God order a number of them to speak to Mary? In the Quranic idiom the use of the plural number signifies that, as God intended to bring about, through her son, a great change in the world affecting various spheres of life, He ordered all the different angels connected with the relevant spheres to take part in conveying the message, thus calling upon all of them to help in bringing about the desired change. See note on angels in 2:31. 333A. Important Words: (worship God alone). See 2:44. 334. Important Words: is the قلم their arrow) اقلامهم plural of (an arrow). They say