The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 53
PT. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN CH. 3 قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنِّى يَكُونُ لِي وَلَدُولَمْ She said, “My Lord, how. 48 shall I have a son, when no man "Such is the way of Allah, He يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ قَالَ كَذَلِكِ اللهُ يَخْلُقُ ,has touched me? He said مَا يَشَاءُ إِذَا قَضَى أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ creates what He pleases. When كُنْ فَيَكُونُ He decrees a thing, He says to it, 'Be' and it is. 337 a19:21. See 2:118. consisted in the fact that Jesus was not only destined to be an intelligent child but was also to live to a ripe age as a righteous servant of God. مهد It should, however, be noted that the expression "in the cradle" does not necessarily mean childhood. The word (cradle) has not been used in the verse literally but only broadly to signify the period of unripe age, i. e. that preceding or full-grown manhood. In fact, as shown under Important Words, does not originally mean a cradle. That meaning is rather secondary, the primary meaning being the state or period of preparation when one is, as it were, being prepared and made even and smooth for the duties of ripe age. The fact that the Quran has mentioned the two periods, (i. e. "in the cradle" and "middle age") side by side also shows that there is no intervening period between them. The entire period before a (middle age) is that of i. e. a period of preparation; otherwise the verse would become a dispraise rather than praise; for in that case the insinuation would be that Jesus did not speak wisely in the period lying between childhood and middle age. 493 Finally, it may be noted that, according to the Quran and authentic Ḥadīth, Jesus did not die on the cross at the age of 33 but lived up to a very old age, but of this we would speak later at its proper place. 337. Commentary: The news of a son, however happy in ordinary circumstances, greatly perplexed Mary who was not only as yet unmarried but was also meant to remain so for life. The verse reflects her justified perplexity. It also shows that Jesus had no father, as hinted in Mary's words, no man has touched me. Having been dedicated to the service of the Temple, Mary could not, consistently with her vow of celibacy, marry. If she was to marry and have children in due course there was no occasion for her to be surprised when the birth of a child was announced to her by the angel in a vision. No normal girl would be surprised if she were told in a vision that a son would be born to her; for she would naturally infer that the promised child would be born to her after marriage. In the Gospel of Mary, the vow of celibacy is clearly referred