Annonce du 15 juillet 2026

Salam'aleykoum et bienvenue sur la version 2 de Le-Coran.com

Je suis heureux de présenter à nos visiteurs cette nouvelle version de Le-Coran.com. Elle conserve les fonctionnalités que vous utilisez déjà au quotidien, tout en apportant une interface plus claire, plus rapide... et mieux adaptée à la lecture sur mobile comme sur ordinateur.

Cette version corrige aussi le bug audio qui touchait ces derniers temps la récitation de Mishary Al Afasy. Nous sommes désolés pour le désagrément causé.

Plusieurs nouveautés ont été ajoutées : amélioration du design, lecture plus confortable du Coran, mode mushaf amélioré, tajwīd coloré, mot à mot, recherche enrichie, nouveaux outils d'apprentissage et de mémorisation, ainsi que des améliorations pour l'espace membre. La lecture Warsh est également en cours d'intégration et devrait arriver dans les prochaines heures ou les prochains jours. Il est aussi possible de signaler une publicité qui se serait échappée de nos filtres, et bien d'autres améliorations ont été apportées. Bien sûr, le tout reste 100% gratuit, comme depuis 13 ans maintenant, et pour toujours incha'Allah.

Tout va être testé et amélioré dans les prochains jours, et aussi les prochaines nuits, en fonction de vos retours. Si vous remarquez un bug, une gêne d'utilisation ou une amélioration possible, n'hésitez pas à nous contacter via le nouveau formulaire de contact.

Qu'Allah rende ce travail utile et bénéfique.

Faire un don
Le-Coran.com is 100% free. Advertising revenue funds site improvements and charitable causes, and we reject any advertising that conflicts with Islamic values.
مريم

Surah MARYAM / Mary phonetic | Surah 19

MARYAM · 98 verses

Bismi Allāhi Ar-Raĥmāni Ar-Raĥīmi

1 Kāf-Hā-Yā-`Ayn-Şād

2 Dhikru Raĥmati Rabbika `Abdahu Zakarīyā

3 'Idh Nādá Rabbahu Nidā'an Khafīyāan

4 Qāla Rabbi 'Innī Wahana Al-`Ažmu Minnī Wa Ashta`ala Ar-Ra'su Shaybāan Wa Lam 'Akun Bidu`ā'ika Rabbi Shaqīyāan

5 Wa 'Innī Khiftu Al-Mawāliya Min Warā'ī Wa Kānati Amra'atī `Āqirāan Fahab Lī Min Ladunka Walīyāan

6 Yarithunī Wa Yarithu Min 'Āli Ya`qūba Wa Aj`alhu Rabbi Rađīyāan

7 Yā Zakarīyā 'Innā Nubashiruka Bighulāmin Asmuhu Yaĥyá Lam Naj`al Lahu Min Qablu Samīyāan

8 Qāla Rabbi 'Anná Yakūnu Lī Ghulāmun Wa Kānat Amra'atī `Āqirāan Wa Qad Balaghtu Mina Al-Kibari `Itīyāan

9 Qāla Kadhālika Qāla Rabbuka Huwa `Alayya Hayyinun Wa Qad Khalaqtuka Min Qablu Wa Lam Taku Shay'āan

10 Qāla Rabbi Aj`al Lī 'Āyatan Qāla 'Āyatuka 'Allā Tukallima An-Nāsa Thalātha Layālin Sawīyāan

11 Fakharaja `Alá Qawmihi Mina Al-Miĥrābi Fa'awĥá 'Ilayhim 'An Sabbiĥū Bukratan Wa `Ashīyāan

12 Yā Yaĥyá Khudhi Al-Kitāba Biqūwatin Wa 'Ātaynāhu Al-Ĥukma Şabīyāan

13 Wa Ĥanānāan Min Ladunnā Wa Zakāatan Wa Kāna Taqīyāan

14 Wa Barrāan Biwālidayhi Wa Lam Yakun Jabbārāan `Aşīyāan

15 Wa Salāmun `Alayhi Yawma Wulida Wa Yawma Yamūtu Wa Yawma Yub`athu Ĥayyāan

16 Wa Adhkur Fī Al-Kitābi Maryama 'Idh Antabadhat Min 'Ahlihā Makānāan Sharqīyāan

17 Fāttakhadhat Min Dūnihim Ĥijābāan Fa'arsalnā 'Ilayhā Rūĥanā Fatamaththala Lahā Basharāan Sawīyāan

18 Qālat 'Innī 'A`ūdhu Bir-Raĥmani Minka 'In Kunta Taqīyāan

19 Qāla 'Innamā 'Anā Rasūlu Rabbiki Li'haba Laki Ghulāmāan Zakīyāan

20 Qālat 'Anná Yakūnu Lī Ghulāmun Wa Lam Yamsasnī Basharun Wa Lam 'Aku Baghīyāan

21 Qāla Kadhāliki Qāla Rabbuki Huwa `Alayya Hayyinun Wa Linaj`alahu 'Āyatan Lilnnāsi Wa Raĥmatan Minnā Wa Kāna 'Amrāan Maqđīyāan

22 Faĥamalat/hu Fāntabadhat Bihi Makānāan Qaşīyāan

23 Fa'ajā'ahā Al-Makhāđu 'Ilá Jidh`i An-Nakhlati Qālat Yā Laytanī Mittu Qabla Hādhā Wa Kuntu Nasyāan Mansīyāan

24 Fanādāhā Min Taĥtihā 'Allā Taĥzanī Qad Ja`ala Rabbuki Taĥtaki Sarīyāan

25 Wa Huzzī 'Ilayki Bijidh`i An-Nakhlati Tusāqiţ `Alayki Ruţabāan Janīyāan

26 Fakulī Wa Ashrabī Wa Qarrī `Aynāan Fa'immā Taraynna Mina Al-Bashari 'Aĥadāan Faqūlī 'Innī Nadhartu Lilrraĥmani Şawmāan Falan 'Ukallima Al-Yawma 'Insīyāan

27 Fa'atat Bihi Qawmahā Taĥmiluhu Qālū Yā Maryamu Laqad Ji'ti Shay'āan Farīyāan

28 Yā 'Ukhta Hārūna Mā Kāna 'Abūki Amra'a Saw'in Wa Mā Kānat 'Ummuki Baghīyāan

29 Fa'ashārat 'Ilayhi Qālū Kayfa Nukallimu Man Kāna Fī Al-Mahdi Şabīyāan

30 Qāla 'Innī `Abdu Allāhi 'Ātāniya Al-Kitāba Wa Ja`alanī Nabīyāan

31 Wa Ja`alanī Mubārakāan 'Ayna Mā Kuntu Wa 'Awşānī Biş-Şalāati Wa Az-Zakāati Mā Dumtu Ĥayyāan

32 Wa Barrāan Biwālidatī Wa Lam Yaj`alnī Jabbārāan Shaqīyāan

33 Wa As-Salāmu `Alayya Yawma Wulidtu Wa Yawma 'Amūtu Wa Yawma 'Ub`athu Ĥayyāan

34 Dhālika `Īsá Abnu Maryama Qawla Al-Ĥaqqi Al-Ladhī Fīhi Yamtarūna

35 Mā Kāna Lillāhi 'An Yattakhidha Min Waladin Subĥānahu 'Idhā Qađá 'Amrāan Fa'innamā Yaqūlu Lahu Kun Fayakūnu

36 Wa 'Inna Allāha Rabbī Wa Rabbukum Fā`budūhu Hādhā Şirāţun Mustaqīmun

37 khtalafa Al-'Aĥzābu Min Baynihim Fawaylun Lilladhīna Kafarū Min Mash/hadi Yawmin `Ažīmin

38 'Asmi` Bihim Wa 'Abşir Yawma Ya'tūnanā Lakini Až-Žālimūna Al-Yawma Fī Đalālin Mubīnin

39 Wa 'Andhirhum Yawma Al-Ĥasrati 'Idh Quđiya Al-'Amru Wa Hum Fī Ghaflatin Wa Hum Lā Yu'uminūna

40 'Innā Naĥnu Narithu Al-'Arđa Wa Man `Alayhā Wa 'Ilaynā Yurja`ūna

41 Wa Adhkur Fī Al-Kitābi 'Ibrāhīma 'Innahu Kāna Şiddīqāan Nabīyāan

42 'Idh Qāla Li'abīhi Yā 'Abati Lima Ta`budu Mā Lā Yasma`u Wa Lā Yubşiru Wa Lā Yughnī `Anka Shay'āan

43 Yā 'Abati 'Innī Qad Jā'anī Mina Al-`Ilmi Mā Lam Ya'tika Fa Attabi`nī 'Ahdika Şirāţāan Sawīyāan

44 Yā 'Abati Lā Ta`budi Ash-Shayţāna 'Inna Ash-Shayţāna Kāna Lilrraĥmani `Aşīyāan

45 Yā 'Abati 'Innī 'Akhāfu 'An Yamassaka `Adhābun Mina Ar-Raĥmāni Fatakūna Lilshayţāni Walīyāan

46 Qāla 'Arāghibun 'Anta `An 'Ālihatī Yā 'Ibrāhīmu La'in Lam Tantahi La'arjumannaka Wa Ahjurnī Malīyāan

47 Qāla Salāmun `Alayka Sa'astaghfiru Laka Rabbī 'Innahu Kāna Bī Ĥafīyāan

48 Wa 'A`tazilukum Wa Mā Tad`ūna Min Dūni Allāhi Wa 'Ad`ū Rabbī `Asá 'Allā 'Akūna Bidu`ā'i Rabbī Shaqīyāan

49 Falammā A`tazalahum Wa Mā Ya`budūna Min Dūni Allāhi Wahabnā Lahu 'Isĥāqa Wa Ya`qūba Wa Kullā Ja`alnā Nabīyāan

50 Wa Wahabnā Lahum Min Raĥmatinā Wa Ja`alnā Lahum Lisāna Şidqin `Alīyāan

51 Wa Adhkur Fī Al-Kitābi Mūsá 'Innahu Kāna Mukhlaşāan Wa Kāna Rasūlāan Nabīyāan

52 Wa Nādaynāhu Min Jānibi Aţ-Ţūri Al-'Aymani Wa Qarrabnāhu Najīyāan

53 Wa Wahabnā Lahu Min Raĥmatinā 'Akhāhu Hārūna Nabīyāan

54 Wa Adhkur Fī Al-Kitābi 'Ismā`īla 'Innahu Kāna Şādiqa Al-Wa`di Wa Kāna Rasūlāan Nabīyāan

55 Wa Kāna Ya'muru 'Ahlahu Biş-Şalāati Wa Az-Zakāati Wa Kāna `Inda Rabbihi Marđīyāan

56 Wa Adhkur Fī Al-Kitābi 'Idrīsa 'Innahu Kāna Şiddīqāan Nabīyāan

57 Wa Rafa`nāhu Makānāan `Alīyāan

58 'Ūlā'ika Al-Ladhīna 'An`ama Allāhu `Alayhim Mina An-Nabīyīna Min Dhurrīyati 'Ādama Wa Mimman Ĥamalnā Ma`a Nūĥin Wa Min Dhurrīyati 'Ibrāhīma Wa 'Isrā'īla Wa Mimman Hadaynā Wa Ajtabaynā 'Idhā Tutlá `Alayhim 'Āyātu Ar-Raĥmāni Kharrū Sujjadāan Wa Bukīyāan

59 Fakhalafa Min Ba`dihim Khalfun 'Ađā`ū Aş-Şalāata Wa Attaba`ū Ash-Shahawāti Fasawfa Yalqawna Ghayyāan

60 'Illā Man Tāba Wa 'Āmana Wa `Amila Şāliĥāan Fa'ūlā'ika Yadkhulūna Al-Jannata Wa Lā Yužlamūna Shay'āan

61 Jannāti `Adnin Allatī Wa`ada Ar-Raĥmānu `Ibādahu Bil-Ghaybi 'Innahu Kāna Wa`duhu Ma'tīyāan

62 Lā Yasma`ūna Fīhā Laghwan 'Illā Salāmāan Wa Lahum Rizquhum Fīhā Bukratan Wa `Ashīyāan

63 Tilka Al-Jannatu Allatī Nūrithu Min `Ibādinā Man Kāna Taqīyāan

64 Wa Mā Natanazzalu 'Illā Bi'amri Rabbika Lahu Mā Bayna 'Aydīnā Wa Mā Khalfanā Wa Mā Bayna Dhālika Wa Mā Kāna Rabbuka Nasīyāan

65 Rabbu As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđi Wa Mā Baynahumā Fā`bud/hu Wa Aşţabir Li`ibādatihi Hal Ta`lamu Lahu Samīyāan

66 Wa Yaqūlu Al-'Insānu 'A'idhā Mā Mittu Lasawfa 'Ukhraju Ĥayyāan

67 'Awalā Yadhkuru Al-'Insānu 'Annā Khalaqnāhu Min Qablu Wa Lam Yaku Shay'āan

68 Fawarabbika Lanaĥshurannahum Wa Ash-Shayāţīna Thumma Lanuĥđirannahum Ĥawla Jahannama Jithīyāan

69 Thumma Lananzi`anna Min Kulli Shī`atin 'Ayyuhum 'Ashaddu `Alá Ar-Raĥmāni `Itīyāan

70 Thumma Lanaĥnu 'A`lamu Bial-Ladhīna Hum 'Awlá Bihā Şilīyāan

71 Wa 'In Minkum 'Illā Wa Ariduhā Kāna `Alá Rabbika Ĥatmāan Maqđīyāan

72 Thumma Nunajjī Al-Ladhīna Attaqaw Wa Nadharu Až-Žālimīna Fīhā Jithīyāan

73 Wa 'Idhā Tutlá `Alayhim 'Āyātunā Bayyinātin Qāla Al-Ladhīna Kafarū Lilladhīna 'Āmanū 'Ayyu Al-Farīqayni Khayrun Maqāmāan Wa 'Aĥsanu Nadīyāan

74 Wa Kam 'Ahlaknā Qablahum Min Qarnin Hum 'Aĥsanu 'Athāthāan Wa Ri'yāan

75 Qul Man Kāna Fī Ađ-Đalālati Falyamdud Lahu Ar-Raĥmānu Maddāan Ĥattá 'Idhā Ra'aw Mā Yū`adūna 'Immā Al-`Adhāba Wa 'Immā As-Sā`ata Fasaya`lamūna Man Huwa Sharrun Makānāan Wa 'Ađ`afu Jundāan

76 Wa Yazīdu Allāhu Al-Ladhīna Ahtadaw Hudáan Wa Al-Bāqiyātu Aş-Şāliĥātu Khayrun `Inda Rabbika Thawābāan Wa Khayrun Maraddāan

77 'Afara'ayta Al-Ladhī Kafara Bi'āyātinā Wa Qāla La'ūtayanna Mālāan Wa Waladāan

78 'Āţţala`a Al-Ghayba 'Am Attakhadha `Inda Ar-Raĥmāni `Ahdāan

79 Kallā Sanaktubu Mā Yaqūlu Wa Namuddu Lahu Mina Al-`Adhābi Maddāan

80 Wa Narithuhu Mā Yaqūlu Wa Ya'tīnā Fardāan

81 Wa Attakhadhū Min Dūni Allāhi 'Ālihatan Liyakūnū Lahum `Izzāan

82 Kallā Sayakfurūna Bi`ibādatihim Wa Yakūnūna `Alayhim Điddāan

83 'Alam Tara 'Annā 'Arsalnā Ash-Shayāţīna `Alá Al-Kāfirīna Ta'uuzzuhum 'Azzāan

84 Falā Ta`jal `Alayhim 'Innamā Na`uddu Lahum `Addāan

85 Yawma Naĥshuru Al-Muttaqīna 'Ilá Ar-Raĥmāni Wafdāan

86 Wa Nasūqu Al-Mujrimīna 'Ilá Jahannama Wirdāan

87 Lā Yamlikūna Ash-Shafā`ata 'Illā Mani Attakhadha `Inda Ar-Raĥmāni `Ahdāan

88 Wa Qālū Attakhadha Ar-Raĥmānu Waladāan

89 Laqad Ji'tum Shay'āan 'Iddāan

90 Takādu As-Samāwātu Yatafaţţarna Minhu Wa Tanshaqqu Al-'Arđu Wa Takhirru Al-Jibālu Haddāan

91 'An Da`aw Lilrraĥmani Waladāan

92 Wa Mā Yanbaghī Lilrraĥmani 'An Yattakhidha Waladāan

93 'In Kullu Man Fī As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđi 'Illā 'Ātī Ar-Raĥmāni `Abdāan

94 Laqad 'Aĥşāhum Wa `Addahum `Addāan

95 Wa Kulluhum 'Ātīhi Yawma Al-Qiyāmati Fardāan

96 'Inna Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Wa `Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti Sayaj`alu Lahumu Ar-Raĥmānu Wuddāan

97 Fa'innamā Yassarnāhu Bilisānika Litubashira Bihi Al-Muttaqīna Wa Tundhira Bihi Qawmāan Luddāan

98 Wa Kam 'Ahlaknā Qablahum Min Qarnin Hal Tuĥissu Minhum Min 'Aĥadin 'Aw Tasma`u Lahum Rikzāan

Support Le-Coran.com and its humanitarian, socially impactful projects

More information ›

A charity that never stops.

As long as you support Le-Coran.com, every verse read, memorised or listened to on the site by millions of people becomes for you an ongoing charity, whose reward continues.

« When a person dies, their deeds come to an end except three: a continuing charity, beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for them. »Reported by Muslim
48monthly supporters

Join the 48 people who support Le-Coran.com every month, a 100% free tool since 2013, and it will always stay that way in shā’ Allah.

They support Le-Coran.com: Kamel Mawa Zohra Nassim Latifahedi Maryam

Make a donation

Amount
Frequency
First name
Last name
Email
Public support message (optional)

Donation summary

Payment amount10,00 €
FrequencyTous les mois
Total10,00 €
🔒 Secure payment 🔓 Cancel anytime 💳 Apple Pay & Google Pay 📧 Receipt by email
Secure payment by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal in 1 click at the next step. Bank transfer on request. A follow-up email is sent to the donor.

Messages from donors

Thank you for your messages. Only the first name is shown publicly.

Tafsir

Verse 1

Kāf hā yā ‘ayn sād: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

Verse 2

This is, a mention of your Lord’s mercy to His servant (‘abdahu, a direct object of rahma, ‘mercy’) Zachariah (an explication of it [the direct object]),

Verse 3

when (idh is semantically connected to rahma, ‘mercy’) he called out to his Lord a call, entailing a supplication, in secret, in the middle of the night, because this [time of the night] invites a faster response [to one’s supplication].

Verse 4

He said, ‘My Lord, truly the bones, all [the bones], within me have become feeble, weak, and my head is alight with grey hair (shayban, a specification derived from the subject of the verb in other words, hoariness has spread throughout his hairs just as a spark of fire spreads through firewood) and I wish to supplicate to you, and I have never been in my supplications to You, my Lord, unsuccessful, that is, [I have never been] disappointed, in the past, so do not disappoint me in what follows.

Verse 5

And truly I fear my kinsfolk, namely, those who will succeed me [as closest after me] in kinship, such as [my] paternal cousins, after me, that is, after my death, [I fear] for the religion, lest they forsake it, as You have witnessed in the case of the Children of Israel, in the way that they changed [their] religion, and my wife is barren, she does not conceive. So grant me from Yourself a successor, a son,

Verse 6

who may inherit from me (read yarithnī in apocopated form as a response to the imperative statement [fa-hab lī, ‘grant me’], or read yarithunī as an adjectival qualification of waliyyan, ‘a successor’) and inherit (also read in both ways [mentioned]), from the House of Jacob, my forefather, [inherit] knowledge and prophethood, and make him, my Lord, acceptable’, that is, pleasing to you.

Verse 7

God, exalted be He, in responding to his request for a son that will be the incarnation of His mercy, says: ‘O Zachariah! Indeed We give you good tidings of a boy, who will inherit in the way that you have requested — whose name is John. Never before have We made anyone his namesake’, that is, [never has there been] anyone with the name ‘John’.

Verse 8

He said, ‘My Lord, how shall I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age?’ (‘itiyyan, [derives] from [the verb] ‘atā, ‘it became withered’) in other words, [he had reached] extreme old age, 120 years; and his wife had reached the age of 98 (‘atiya in terms of its root derives from ‘utuwwun, but the tā’ is vowelled as -ti-, to soften it, the first wāw [vowel] is changed into a yā’ to be in harmony with the –ti- vowelling, while the second [wāw letter] is changed into a yā’ so that the [previous] yā’ can be assimilated with it).

Verse 9

He said, ‘It, the matter [in question], of creating a boy from both of you, shall be so! Your Lord says, “It is easy for Me, namely, to restore your sexual potency and tear open your wife’s womb [in preparation] for conception, for I certainly created you before when you were nothing”’, [you were nothing] before your created form became manifest. As God wished to manifest this great power, He inspired him [the form of] the question, in order for him to receive the response that will indicate it [this power]. And when his soul yearned for the prompt arrival of that whereof he had been given good tidings:

Verse 10

He said, ‘Lord, appoint for me some sign’, namely, some indication of my wife’s becoming pregnant. Said He, ‘Your sign, for this, is that you shall not speak to people, that is, that you [should] refrain from speaking to them, but not [from speaking] the remembrance of God, exalted be He, for three nights, that is, together with the days thereof, as [stated] in [sūrat] Āl ‘Imrān, ‘for three days’ [Q. 3:41], while [you are] in sound health’ (sawiyyan, a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject of the verb tukallima, ‘you shall [not] speak’) in other words, despite there being no defect [in you].

Verse 11

So he emerged before his people from the sanctuary, that is, from the temple — they had been waiting for him to open it in order to perform [their] prayers therein after his command, as was the custom — and signalled, indicated, to them, ‘Make glorifications, perform prayers, at morning and evening’, at the beginning of the day and [at] its end, as per usual. He then realised, upon his being prevented from speaking to them, that she was pregnant with John.

Verse 12

And two years after his birth, God, exalted be He, said to him: ‘O John! Hold on to the Scripture, namely, the Torah, firmly’, earnestly. And We gave him judgement, prophethood, while still a child, a three-year old;

Verse 13

and compassion, a mercy for mankind, from Us, from Our presence, and purity, a charity for them, and he was God-fearing — it is related that he never committed a sin, nor contemplated [committing] one;

Verse 14

and dutiful to his parents, that is, virtuous towards them. And he was not arrogant or rebellious, disobedient to his Lord.

Verse 15

‘And peace, from Us, be upon him, the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he shall be raised alive!’, that is, [on] those fearful days in which he sees what he will never have seen before — in these he will be given security [from fear].

Verse 16

And mention in the Book, [in] the Qur’ān, Mary, that is, [mention] her tale, when she withdrew from her family to an easterly place, that is, [when] she secluded herself in a place on the east side of [her] home.

Verse 17

Thus she veiled herself from them, she draped herself in a veil to conceal herself while she washed her hair [from lice], or [washed] her clothes, or cleansed herself from her menses; whereupon We sent to her Our Spirit, Gabriel, and he assumed before her, after she donned her clothes, the likeness of a well-proportioned human, perfect in physical form.

Verse 18

She said, ‘Lo! I seek refuge in the Compassionate One from you! If you fear God’, and leave me alone on account of my invocation of refuge in God.

Verse 19

He said, ‘I am only a messenger of your Lord, that I may give you a boy [who shall be] pure’, in [his] prophethood.

Verse 20

She said, ‘How shall I have a boy when no human being has [ever] touched me, by way of conjugality, neither have I been unchaste?’, [neither have I been] a fornicator.

Verse 21

He said, ‘It, the matter in question, of creating a boy from you without a father, shall be so! Your Lord has said: “It is easy for Me, in other words, by Gabriel’s breathing into you, by My command, so that you become pregnant with him — since what has been mentioned is meant as a reason, the following [statement] is added as a supplement thereto: and so that We may make him a sign for mankind, of Our power, and a mercy from Us, to whoever believes in him. And it, the creation of him, is a thing [already] decreed”’, according to My knowledge. So Gabriel breathed into the opening of her shirt, whereupon she sensed the formed foetus in her womb.

Verse 22

Thus she conceived him and then withdrew, retreated, with him to a distant place, far from her family.

Verse 23

And the birth pangs, the pains of childbirth, brought her to the trunk of the palm-tree, that she may support herself against it, and then she gave birth: the conception, formation [of the foetus] and delivery [all] took place within one hour. She said, ‘O (yā is [used] to call attention [to something]) would that I had died before this, affair, and become a forgotten thing, beyond recall!’, a thing abandoned which no one knows or mentions.

Verse 24

Then he called her from below her, namely, Gabriel — for he was lower than her, ‘Do not grieve. Your Lord has made below you a rivulet, a river of water, which had dried up.

Verse 25

And shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards you, [a palm-tree] which had withered (the bi- [in bi-jidh‘i’l-nakhlati, ‘the trunk of the palm-tree] is extra) — there will drop (tusāqit, originally this is tatasāqat, but the second tā’ is changed into a sīn and is assimilated with the [second] sīn; a variant reading omits it [the second tā’] altogether) on you dates (rutaban, a specification) fresh and ripe (janiyyan, an adjectival qualification of it [of rutaban, ‘dates’]).

Verse 26

So eat, of the dates, and drink, from the rivulet, and [let] your eye be comforted, by the child (‘aynan, ‘[your] eye’, a specification derived from the subject of the verb, in other words [what is meant is] li-taqarra ‘aynuki bihi, ‘that your eye may be comforted by him’) that is, let it [your eye] be at peace and not covet any other than him; and if (immā: the nūn of the conditional particle in is here assimilated with the extra mā) you [happen to] see (tarayinna: the third consonantal root [the yā’] and the second [the hamza] have been omitted, with the [fatha] vowel therein transferred to the [first consonant] the letter rā’, and a kasra vowel applied to the yā’ of the [feminine] person, because of two unvowelled consonants coming together) any human being, and should he ask you about your child, then say, “I have vowed to the Compassionate One a fast, that is to say, an abstention from speaking of his affair and from [speaking to] any other humans — which is indicated by [the following statement]), so I will not speak to any human today”’, that is, after [saying] this.

Verse 27

Then, carrying him, she brought him to her folk (tahmiluhu, ‘carrying him’, a circumstantial qualifier), and they saw him, and they said, ‘O Mary, truly you have done a curious thing!, an astounding [thing], for you have begotten a son without [his having] a father.

Verse 28

O sister of Aaron — he was a righteous man, in other words [what is meant is], O you who are like him in [terms of] chastity — your father was not a wicked man, that is, a fornicator, nor was your mother unchaste’, that is, a fornicatress: so how is it that you have this child?

Verse 29

Thereat she pointed, them, to him, intimating [to them that they], ‘talk to him’. They said, ‘How can we talk to one who is, who happens to be, in the cradle, [still] a little child?’

Verse 30

He said, ‘Lo! I am God’s servant. He has given me the Scripture, namely, the Gospel, and made me a prophet.

Verse 31

And He has made me blessed wherever I may be, that is, [He has made me] of great benefit to mankind — [this is] a foretelling of what had been preordained for him — and He has enjoined upon me prayer and alms-giving, He has commanded me to [do] both of these, as long as I remain alive;

Verse 32

and [He has made me] dutiful towards my mother (barran, in the accusative because of the implicit [verb] ja‘alanī, ‘He has made me’). And He has not made me arrogant, haughty, wretched, disobedient to his Lord.

Verse 33

And peace, from God, be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!’ — the same is being said about him as [was said above] regarding the lord John. God, exalted be He, says:

Verse 34

That is Jesus, son of Mary, a statement of truth (read qawlu’l-haqqi, as the predicate of an implied subject, in other words, ‘the statement of the son of Mary [is a statement of truth]’; or read qawla’l-haqqi, because of [it being the object of] an implied [verb] qultu, ‘I say’, meaning, ‘[I say] a statement of truth’) concerning which they are in doubt (yamtarūna, derives from [the infinitive] al-mirya) — they are the Christians, who say, ‘Indeed Jesus is the son of God’; [but] they lie.

Verse 35

It is not [befitting] for God to take to Himself a son. Glory be to Him — in affirmation of His being transcendent above [doing] such a thing. When He decrees a thing, that is, [when] He will for it to happen, He only says to it, ‘Be!’, and it is (read fa-yakūnu because of an implied [pronoun] huwa [sc. fa-huwa yakūnu]; or read fa-yakūna because of an implied an [sc. an yakūna]). An example of this is His creating Jesus without [his having had] a father.

Verse 36

And indeed God is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (read [the introductory particle] as anna, with an implicit [preceding] udhkur, ‘mention’; or read [it] as inna, with an implicit [preceding] qul, ‘say’, [a reading] indicated by [the fact that God says elsewhere] ‘I only said to them that which You commanded me: “Worship God, my Lord and your Lord” ’ [Q. 5:117]). This, that has been mentioned, is a straight path, a route leading to Paradise.

Verse 37

But the factions differed among themselves, that is to say, the Christians, [they differed] regarding Jesus: was he the son of God? A god alongside Him? Or [was he] the third of three [gods]? So woe — [meaning] severe punishment [will be meted out] — to those who disbelieve, [those who disbelieve] in the way mentioned and in other ways, at the scene of an awful Day, that is to say, [woe to them] when they are present at the Day of Resurrection and [witnessing] its terrors.

Verse 38

How hearing they are and seeing, they are (these two constructions [are used to] express ‘amazement’, meaning, ‘how well they [will] hear and how well they [will] see’) on the Day when they come to Us, in the Hereafter. Yet the evildoers (an example of a proper noun [‘evildoers’] replacing a third person pronominalisation) today, that is, in this world, are in manifest error, that is, [error] that is evident therein, having been deaf [unable] to listen to the truth and blind [unable] to see it. In other words, [the meaning is]: O you, the one being addressed, marvel at how [well] they will [be able to] hear and see in the Hereafter after they had been deaf and blind in this world.

Verse 39

And warn them, threaten, O Muhammad (s), the disbelievers of Mecca, of the Day of Regret, namely, the Day of Resurrection, on which the sinner will regret not having been virtuous in [the life of] this world, when the matter will be decided, for them thereupon, that they be chastised, while they, in this world, are [yet] heedless, of it, and do not believe, in it [the Day of Resurrection].

Verse 40

Indeed We (innā nahnu, [a repetition of the first person] for emphasis), shall inherit the earth and all who are on it, of rational beings and others, by destroying them, and to Us they shall be returned, thereon [on the Day of Resurrection] for requital.

Verse 41

And mention, to them, in the Book Abraham, that is, [mention] his tale. Indeed he was a truthful one ([the intensive form siddīq] means ‘extremely truthful’), a prophet (the following [statement] substitutes for the [preceding] predicate).

Verse 42

When he said to his father, Āzar, ‘O my father! (the [final] tā’ here [of abati] has replaced the [possessive] yā’ of [genitive] annexation [sc. of yā abī]; the two, however, are never used together) — he [Abraham’s father] used to worship idols. Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees, and is of no avail to you, suffices you [not], in any way? whether in [terms of] benefit or harm.

Verse 43

O my father! Indeed there has come to me of knowledge that which has not come to you. So follow me that I may guide you to a path, a route, that is right, [that is] straight.

Verse 44

O my father! Do not worship Satan, by obeying him through [your] worship of idols. Truly Satan is disobedient ([the intensive form‘asiyyan] means ‘one given to disobedience’) to the Compassionate One.

Verse 45

O my father! I do fear lest a chastisement from the Compassionate One should befall you, if you do not repent, and then you become an ally of Satan, an assistant and a comrade [of his] in the Fire.

Verse 46

He said, ‘Are you renouncing my gods, O Abraham?, so that you are denouncing them [in this way]? If you do not desist, from criticising them, I shall surely assail you, with stones, or with evil words, so beware of me; and stay away from me for a long time’.

Verse 47

He said, ‘Peace be to you, from me — in other words, I shall not cause you any harm. I shall ask forgiveness of my Lord for you. Truly He is ever gracious to me (hafiyyan, from hafiyyun, meaning bārrun, ‘kind’) answering my prayers. And indeed he [Abraham] fulfilled his above-mentioned promise [as described] in [sūrat] al-Shu‘arā’, And forgive my father [Q. 26:86]; but this was before it became clear to him that he [Abraham’s father] was an enemy of God, as mentioned in [sūrat] Barā’a [Q. 9:114].

Verse 48

And I shall shun you and that which you call upon, [that which] you worship, besides God. I will supplicate, I will worship, my Lord — hopefully in calling upon, in worshipping, my Lord I shall not be wretched’, as you have become wretched by your worship of idols.

Verse 49

And so after he had shunned them and that which they worshipped besides God, by having set off to the Holy Land, We gave him, two sons for him to find solace in, Isaac and Jacob, and each, of the two, We made a prophet.

Verse 50

And We gave them, all three [of them], out of Our mercy, wealth and offspring, and We assigned for them a worthy repute [one] that is lofty, sublime, namely, [We assigned] fair praise [of them] among all the members of the [Abrahamic] religions.

Verse 51

And mention in the Book Moses. Indeed he was devoted [to God] (read either as mukhlisan, to mean ‘one sincerely devoted to worship [of God]’; or read mukhlasan, [to mean ‘he was delivered’] as in God had delivered him from defilement) and he was a messenger, a prophet.

Verse 52

And We called him — with the words, ‘O Moses! Verily I am God’ [Q. 27:9] — from the right side of the Mount (al-Tūr, is [actually] the name of a mountain) that is, [from the side] to the right of Moses as he was approaching [the Mount] from Midian; and We brought him near in communion, as God, exalted be He, made him hear His speech.

Verse 53

And We gave him out of Our mercy, Our grace, his brother Aaron (Hārūn, either a substitution [for akhāhu, ‘his brother’], or an explicative supplement [thereof]), [likewise] a prophet (nabiyyan, a circumstantial qualifier, constituting the import of the ‘gift’ [to Moses], which was in response to his [Moses’s] request that He [God] send forth his brother with him; he [Aaron] was older in years than him).

Verse 54

And mention in the Book Ishmael. Indeed he was true to his promise — he never promised anything which he did not fulfil; he [once] waited for three days for someone whom he had promised [to meet]; or [it is said that he waited] an entire year until that person [finally] returned to the place in which he [Ishamel] was [supposed to have met the former]; and he was a messenger, to [the tribe of] Jurhum, a prophet [likewise].

Verse 55

He used to enjoin upon his kinsfolk, that is, his people, prayer and the [payment of] alms, and he was pleasing to his Lord (mardiyyan, ‘pleasing’, is actually marduwwun, but both wāw letters have been changed to two yā’ letters, while the kasra vowel [has also been changed to] a damma vowel).

Verse 56

And mention in the Book Idrīs, who was Noah’s great-grandfather. Indeed he was a truthful one, a prophet.

Verse 57

And We raised him to a high station — he is alive in the fourth, or sixth, or seventh heaven, or [he is] in Paradise into which he was admitted after he was made to experience death and brought back to life, and he has not exited therefrom.

Verse 58

Those (ūlā’ika is the subject) to whom God has been gracious (alladhīna an‘ama’Llāhu ‘alayhim is an adjectival qualification of it [of the subject]) from among the prophets (mina’l-nabīyyīna, an explication of it [of the subject] functioning like an adjectival qualification in terms of import. That which follows it [mina’l-nabīyyīna, ‘from among the prophets’] up to [where] the conditional sentence begins, constitutes an adjectival qualification of al-nabīyyīna, ‘the prophets’; and so His saying … ) of the seed of Adam, namely, Idrīs, and of those whom We carried with Noah, in the Ark, namely, Abraham — [who is the] son of his [Noah’s] son Shem (Sām) — and of the seed of Abraham, namely, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and, of the seed of, Israel — who is Jacob — namely, Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, John and Jesus, and from among those whom We guided and chose, that is to say, from among their number (the predicate of ūlā’ika, ‘those’, is [the following, idhā tutlā …]) when the signs of the Compassionate One were recited to them, they would fall down prostrating and weeping (these [sujjadan and bukīyyan] constitute the plural [forms] of sājid, ‘prostrate’, and bākin, ‘weeping’ [respectively]) in other words [what is meant is]: be [you] like them (bukiyyun is originally [formed from] bakūyyin, but the wāw is changed into a yā’ and the damma vowel into a kasra).

Verse 59

But there succeeded after them a posterity who neglected the prayer, by abandoning [performance of] it, [a posterity] such as the Jews and the Christians, and followed [their] lusts, in the way of acts of disobedience. So they shall [soon] encounter Ghayy — a valley in Hell — that is, they shall fall into it;

Verse 60

whereas those who repent and believe and act righteously — such shall enter Paradise and shall not be wronged, they shall [not] be diminished, in any way, in their reward;

Verse 61

[they shall enter] Gardens of Eden, as [a place of] residence (jannāti ‘Adnin, substitutes for al-janna, ‘Paradise’) which the Compassionate One has promised to His servants [a promise] in the Unseen (bi’l-ghaybi, a circumstantial qualifier, in other words [a promise made while] they do not see it). Indeed His promise, that is to say, that which He promises, is ever fulfilled, meaning that it always arrives (the original [form of ma’tiyyan] is ma’tūyun); or [what is meant by] His promise here is Paradise, to which those deserving of it shall arrive.

Verse 62

Therein they shall not hear anything that is trifling, of talk, but, they shall hear, only [a greeting of] ‘Peace!’, from the angels to them, or from some among them to others. And therein they will have their provision morning and evening, in other words, according to the [equivalent] measure of these two in the [life of this] world, since there is no day or night in Paradise, only everlasting light and illumination.

Verse 63

That is the Paradise which We shall give as inheritance, [which] We shall grant and [in which] We shall lodge, those of Our servants who are God-fearing, through [their] obedience of Him.

Verse 64

When the Revelation did not come for a number of days, the Prophet (s) said to Gabriel, ‘What prevents you from visiting us more often than you do?’ and so the following was revealed: And We do not descend except by the commandment of your Lord. To Him belongs all that is before us, namely, ahead of us, of the affairs of the Hereafter, and all that is behind us, of the affairs of this world, and all that is between those [two], namely, all that takes place from this [point in] time until the coming of the Hour, in other words, to Him belongs knowledge of all of those things. And your Lord is never forgetful, meaning that He is never neglectful of you [even] when the Revelation is postponed from [being sent to] you.

Verse 65

He is, the Lord, the Owner, of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. So worship Him and be steadfast in His worship, in other words, [continue to] perform it patiently. Do you know [of] anyone who could be His namesake? , [anyone] named with that [same title]? No!

Verse 66

And man, the denier of the Resurrection — namely, Ubayy b. Khalaf or al-Walīd b. al-Mughīra, concerning whom the verse was revealed — says, ‘When (read a-idha, either pronouncing the second hamza, or not, but inserting an alif between the two [hamzas] in both [readings]) I am dead, shall I then be brought forth alive?’, from the grave, as Muhammad (s) says? (the interrogative [here] statement is meant as a denial, in other words [he means to say] I shall not be brought forth alive after death; mā [of mā mittu, ‘I am dead’] is extra, for emphasis, likewise [extra is] the lām [of la-sawfa, ‘shall I then’]). He [God] then responds to him with the following saying [of His], exalted be He:

Verse 67

Does not man then remember (yadhdhakaru, is actually yatadhakkaru, but the tā’ has been changed to a dhāl and assimilated with the [other] dhāl; a variant reading leaves it as yadhkuru) that We created him before, when he was nothing?, and thus infer from the first act [of creation] the [possibility of] resurrection.

Verse 68

For by your Lord, We will surely gather them, namely, the deniers of the Resurrection, and the devils, that is to say, We shall gather every one of them with his devil [bound together] in a chain; then We shall bring them around Hell, [around] the outside of it, crouching, on their knees ([jithiyyan is] the plural of jāthin, and is originally [formed as] jathawuwwin or jathawiyyun [deriving] from [the verb] jathā, [imperfect tense] yajthu or yajthī, two [variant] forms).

Verse 69

Then We shall pluck out from every party, every sect, whichever of them was most hardened in disdain, in insolence, of the Compassionate One.

Verse 70

Then indeed We shall know best those most deserving of it, most worthy of [being in] Hell, the most hardened of them and others [like them], for the burning, for the admission [into it] and the scorching [therein], and We shall start with them ([siliyyan is] originally [formed as] salawiyyun, from [the verb] saliya or salaya).

Verse 71

There is not one of you but shall come to it, that is, [but] shall enter Hell. That is an inevitability [already] decreed by your Lord, [something which] He made inevitable and [which] He decreed; He will not waive it.

Verse 72

Then We will deliver (read nunajjī or nunjī) those who were wary, of [committing] idolatry or disbelief, [We will deliver them] from it, and leave those who did wrong, by way of idolatry and disbelief, crouching therein, on their knees.

Verse 73

And when Our manifest, evident (bayyinātin, ‘manifest’, is a circumstantial qualifier) signs, in the Qur’ān, are recited to them, namely, [to] the believers and the disbelievers, those who disbelieve say to those who believe, ‘Which of the two parties — us or you — is better in station, in lodging and abode (read as maqāman, it is [derived] from [the first form] qāma, ‘he stood’; read as muqāman, it is [derived] from the [fourth form] aqāma, ‘he took up residence’) and more excellent in assembly?’ (nadiyyan, meaning the place in which a folk assemble and converse). They [the disbelievers] mean ‘we [are the better of the two parties]’, and so we will fare better than you. God, exalted be He, says:

Verse 74

And how many — in other words, many — a generation, that is, a community from among the communities of the past, have We destroyed before them, who were superior in [their possession of] gear, in wealth and chattel, and in appearance, [superior] as a sight (ri’yan derives from [the infinitive] al-ru’ya). Thus in the same way that We destroyed those [ones] because of their disbelief, We will destroy these [ones also].

Verse 75

Say: ‘As for him who is in error (man kāna fī’l-dalālati, a conditional clause, the response to which is [fa’l-yamdud, ‘He shall prolong’ and what follows it]) the Compassionate One shall defer (fa’l-yamdud, functions in the sense of a predicate) him, from chastisement by [granting him] some respite, in this world, drawing him on [to his eventual chastisement] gradually, until, when they catch sight of that which they were promised, whether it be chastisement [in this world], by being killed or taken captive, or the Hour, the Resurrection that comprises Hell, they will enter it. Then they will surely know who is worse in [respect of] position and weaker in [respect of the number of] hosts’, in [respect of the number of] supporters, themselves or the believers? Their hosts will be the devils, while the hosts of the believers against them will be the angels.

Verse 76

And God increases in guidance those who found [right] guidance, through faith, [increasing them] by way of the signs He reveals to them; and the enduring things, the righteous deeds — namely, obedience [the reward of] which endures for that person — are better in your Lord’s sight in [terms of] reward, and better in [terms of the] return, that is, as something which will be repaid and returned to him [the believer], in contrast to the deeds of the disbelievers. The [use of the qualification] khayr, ‘better’, here is meant to counter [the use of the same in] their statement, ‘Which of the two parties is better in station?’ [above, Q. 19:73].

Verse 77

Have you seen him who disbelieves in Our signs, namely, al-‘Ās b. Wā’il, and says, to Khabbāb b. al-Aratt — who had said to him, ‘You will be resurrected after death!’, and who had requested from him repayment of money — ‘I shall assuredly be given, on the supposition that there is [such a thing as] resurrection, wealth and children?’, and so I will repay you [then]. God, exalted be He, says:

Verse 78

Has he come to learn [something] of the Unseen, that is, has he been given [some] knowledge of it and [of the fact] that he will be given what he has mentioned (here the interrogative hamza [of a-ittala‘a, ‘has he come to learn?’] suffices in place of the conjunctive hamza, which has therefore been omitted) or has he made a covenant with the Compassionate One?, to [the effect that he] be given what he claims?

Verse 79

Nay, he shall not be given [any of] that, but We will assuredly write down, We shall command that it be written down, that which he says and prolong for him the chastisement endlessly, We shall give him because of that [claim] an extra chastisement, in addition to the chastisement for his disbelief;

Verse 80

and We shall take over from him that which he talks about, of wealth and children, and he shall come to Us, on the Day of Resurrection, alone, with neither wealth nor children.

Verse 81

And they, namely, the disbelievers of Mecca, have taken besides God, graven images [as], [other] gods, for them to worship, that they may be for them a [source of] might, [that they may be] intercessors before God, so that they will not be chastised.

Verse 82

Nay, that is to say, there is none to prevent their being chastised, but they, namely, the [idol] gods, shall reject their worship, that is, they will deny it — as [is stated] in another verse: It was not us that they used to worship [Q. 28:63]) — and they shall be [pitted] against them as opponents, enemies, supporting one another [against them].

Verse 83

Have you not regarded that We unleash the devils against, We have set them upon, the disbelievers to urge them, to incite them to [commit] acts of disobedience, impetuously?

Verse 84

So do not make haste against them, to demand [that they receive] chastisement. Indeed We are only counting for them, the days and the nights, or [their] every breath, carefully, until the time [arrives] for their chastisement.

Verse 85

Mention, the day on which We shall gather those who fear God, by their [adherence to] faith, to the Compassionate One, [honoured] on mounts (wafdan, the [accusative] plural of wāfid, meaning ‘mounted’);

Verse 86

and drive the guilty, [guilty] on account of their disbelief, into Hell, a thirsty herd (wirdan, the [accusative] plural of wārid, meaning ‘one who is thirsty and on foot).

Verse 87

They, namely, mankind, will not have the power to intercede, save him who has made a covenant with the Compassionate One, [the covenant being] the profession of lā ilāha illā’Llāh wa-lā hawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi’Llāh, ‘there is no god but God, and there is no power or strength except in God’.

Verse 88

And they say, that is, the Jews and the Christians and those who claim that the angels are God’s daughters, ‘The Compassionate One has taken a son’. [But] God, exalted be He, says to them:

Verse 89

Truly you have uttered something hideous, that is, a great abomination.

Verse 90

The heavens are almost (read takādu, or yakādu) rent (read takādu tatafattarna), by being torn apart (a variant reading has yanfatirna), because of it and the earth [is almost] split asunder, and the mountains [almost] fall down crashing, collapsing on top of them, because of [the fact]:

Verse 91

that they have ascribed a son to the Compassionate One. God, exalted be He, says:

Verse 92

when it is not meet for [the Majesty of] the Compassionate One to take a son, that is to say, such a thing does not befit Him.

Verse 93

There is none in the heavens and the earth but he comes to the Compassionate One as a servant, servile, submissive, on the Day of Resurrection, including [individuals such as] Ezra and Jesus.

Verse 94

Verily He knows their number and has counted them precisely, and therefore [the knowledge of] their total number does not elude Him, not even [the knowledge] of one of them.

Verse 95

And each one of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection, [each one] alone, without wealth or any helper to protect him.

Verse 96

Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds — for them the Compassionate One shall appoint love, between them, so that they have mutual love and affection, and God, exalted be He, will love them.

Verse 97

Indeed We have made it easy, namely, the Qur’ān, in your tongue, only that you may bear good tidings therewith to the God-fearing, those who will be prosperous because of their faith, and warn, threaten, therewith a folk [who are] contumacious (luddan, the [accusative] plural of aladd), in other words, [extremely] disputatious, [using] false arguments — and they are the disbelievers of Mecca.

Verse 98

And how many — in other words, many — a generation, namely, [how many] a community from among the communities of the past, We have destroyed before them, for their denial of [Our] messengers. Can you see, [can] you find, [so much as] one of them, or hear from them [so much as] the faintest sound? No, indeed! So, just as We destroyed those [folk], We shall destroy these [Meccans].

About the surah MARYAM / Mary

Surah Maryam (Mary), the 19th chapter of the Holy Quran whose name is taken from verse 16, is composed of 98 verses that briefly evoke the accounts of illustrious prophets, and among them, the story of Maryam, mother of 'Issa (Jesus).

Circumstances of the revelation of Surah Maryam

This Surah was revealed in Mecca, except for verses 58 and 71 which are Medinan. The evidence of its Meccan origin is that the first Muslims to have fled Mecca, five years after the beginning of the prophetic mission, to emigrate to Abyssinia, recited to King Negus the passage of this Surah evoking Maryam and another excerpt citing the servant of Allah 'Issa (Jesus), peace be upon them. Forty verses, which had been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, before their exile. One may say that they had been granted by Allah as if to prepare their stay in Christian land, to give them the answer to the objections of the detractors of Islam who had come to scheme in order to force them to return to terrible persecutions.

Indeed, when a group of Quraysh were sent by order of the council of Meccan notables to go and retrieve the Muslims in exile with this Christian king, known for his kindness and his love of justice, they distributed gifts at the court and first tried to convince the members of the court to help them with their king so that he would hand the refugees back to them.

The noble companion Jaafar, may Allah be pleased with him, took the floor to recite these passages of Surah Maryam in response to the king's questions. The early historians of Islam relate, according to the account of our mother Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her, that King Negus wept upon hearing these passages and took a straw from the ground to say: « By God, the difference between you and us is no greater than this straw », or again, « This revelation assuredly comes from the same source as the message of Jesus. By God, I will never hand you over to your people ».

It is in this context that Surah Maryam praises for us several generations of prophets who succeeded one another.

The story of Zacharia, peace be upon him

From the very beginning of Surah Maryam, Zacharia is cited as being the prophet of Allah but also the guardian of Maryam, daughter of the prophet 'Imran, peace be upon him. From verse 1 to verse 11, it is the secret prayer (khafiyah) of this noble prophet that is described, when he supplicated with fervor and humility for a son, an heir who would succeed him at the temple. The Quran reveals to us that an angel came to make him a beautiful announcement, that of a son named Yahya (John the Baptist).

Unlike Ibrahim (Abraham), Zacharia's astonishment at this announcement was due to the barrenness of his wife, and not only due to his old age. Indeed, Ibrahim had already had a son (Isma'il) thirteen years earlier, before receiving the announcement concerning his son Ishaq (Isaac).

The announcement of Yahya, peace be upon him

Allah informs us of the distinction of Yahya, who combined very many virtues. He was gentle, compassionate, and had wisdom while he was a child, as cited in verse 12. Purity, piety, tenderness and devotion toward his parents were his qualities. And he was neither violent nor disobedient. Allah enjoins him to hold firmly to the Torah in these terms:

«  O Yahya (John the Baptist), hold firmly to the Book (the Torah)! » Verse 12

The delivery of Maryam and the trial of her people

The Quran reveals to us in Surah 'Imran that Maryam was the daughter of 'Imran, a prophet from the people of Bani Isra'il and a descendant of Dawoud (David), peace be upon him. Here, in explanation of this Surah Maryam, the exegetes teach us that she also had a sister who was the wife of Zacharia, peace be upon him. 

Of her delivery, Allah reveals to us that she received the visit of the angel Djibril, The Spirit, in the form of a perfect man while she was at the sanctuary. He announced to her the good news, on behalf of Allah, of a pious son named 'Issa, who is always cited in the Quran with the name of his mother mentioned afterward.

The exegetes report to us that The Spirit, Djibril (Gabriel), breathed into the collar of her garment in order to blow into her of His Spirit. The conversation they had, she and he, is related by verses 18 to 21.

Fearing the reproaches of her people, Maryam made the decision to withdraw. She brought 'Issa into the world alone. Allah brought her His support by providing her with water and fresh dates when He asked her to shake the palm tree toward her.

She had to undergo the trial of her people's reaction upon her return, and for that Allah prepared her, once again, by asking her to devote a fast to Him when she returned to them. The fast implies a silence to which she submits, and Allah, there again, tells her to bid the people to speak with her holy son instead of addressing her if they have something to say to her.

The speech of 'Issa, peace be upon him, before the people of Bani Isra'il

He is one of the five eminent and resolute prophets (Ulu al-'Azm): Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Moussa, 'Issa, Muhammad, peace be upon them.

'Issa, peace be upon him, addressed the people of Bani Isra'il when they questioned the chastity and purity of Maryam, peace be upon her. As indicated by her Lord, she pointed to her noble son, still an infant, who addressed them to announce to them that he was appointed a prophet by Allah, that he was a servant of Allah, that He had enjoined him to pray, to give the Zakat (the obligatory charity), and to be good to his mother.

From verse 30 to 33, such is the speech of 'Issa related by our Lord, who informs us that 'Issa was only a servant of Allah, and through his mouth, He, Glory be to Him, declares that He can have no child, contrary to the enormities that people say. 'Issa, peace be upon him, exalts the Name of Allah first and informs, secondly, the people that He commanded him to be good to his mother.

Then he, peace be upon him, teaches them the Straight Path, the worship of Allah alone without associating anything with Him.

Ibrahim, the intimate friend of Allah

 After the warning of the Day of Regret, where the wrongdoers who divided into factions after the teachings of 'Issa, peace be upon him, will find themselves, another story brings its share of wisdoms. It is that of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him.

He, Glory be to Him, evokes the speech of Ibrahim to his father, when the former urged him to worship Allah alone and to abandon idolatry. He urged his father in the most beautiful of ways not to follow the steps of the devil, but his father asked him to keep away from him. Nevertheless, he did not cease to invoke Allah for him, until Allah made him understand that he was His enemy. And He gave him the good news of his son Ishaq and Yacoub after him.

Moussa, the interlocutor of Allah

Then follows the story of Moussa, who was called by Allah to go to the mount (Sinai), the burning bush. The exegetes relate to us that he was raised to the heaven so close to his Lord that he could hear the creaking of the divine Pen writing the Torah. Allah tells us that he was a chosen one, a Messenger, and a prophet. His brother Haroun, for his part, is called to be a gift from Allah out of His Mercy, a prophet to support him in his mission to Pharaoh.

The praise of Isma'il by Allah

Through the description of Isma'il, whom Allah praises as being faithful to his promises, as indicated by verse 54, Allah evokes the importance of the commitment. If the quality of honoring one's promises is thus praiseworthy and praised by Allah, then it must be understood that the opposite is therefore blameworthy. 

Allah tells us that he was a prophet and a Messenger, and he commanded his family to prayer and the Zakat, the obligatory charity.

The characteristics of the prophets cited in this Surah

From verse 1 to verse 57, Allah successively mentions stories of prophets as well as that of the mother of the prophet 'Issa, while ending with the mention of the prophet Idriss (probably Enoch).

In the following verse, 58, Allah, Glorified be He, mentions that all these prophets, and the offspring of Adam, of Nuh and those who were carried with him, as well as Ibrahim and all those whom He has chosen, had one particular thing in common:

« … When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell down prostrate, weeping…. »

The distinction of those who came after the prophets

The correlation that exists between the abandonment of prayer and the pursuit of the desires of this world is highlighted here in verse 59. Allah tells us that this group of people who follow their passions after having abandoned their prayer will be in ruin, may Allah preserve us from it.

 Those who deny the Day of Resurrection and the prohibition of polytheism

From verse 66 to 75, Allah makes us reflect on those who deny the Resurrection and the Unseen. For this, He evokes the fact that the human being was nonetheless nothing before his creation. How would the Resurrection be something difficult for Him, Glorified be He?

Allah responds to the audacity that the wrongdoers have in growing arrogant when the verses of Allah are recited to them. Then He describes that Hell is their destination, with the description of those who will have to remain there.

Then Allah evokes those who associate partners with Him and their fate. They are those who take deities to protect themselves and those who attribute a child to Allah, Purity be to Him.

Allah informs us that these deities will deny them on the Day of Resurrection, and they will come alone before Allah.

A magnificent conclusion from the Most Merciful

Allah promises His Love to those who, on the contrary, believe in Him without associating anything with Him, and who do good deeds. And what proof of His Love is the Quran, which is described in the verse that follows, verse 97, which Allah describes as having been made easy to understand in order to be good news and a warner.

May Allah help us to understand it and to apply it.

Surah MARYAM Phonetic listening · 98 verses