1 And as for Mary, it came to pass that she withdrew from her people to a place in the east.
2 She placed a screen to screen herself from them; then God sent His angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.
3 She said, I seek refuge from thee to the Most Gracious: come not near me if thou dost fear God.
4 He said, Nay, I am but a messenger of God to thee.1
5 O Mary! God hath chosen thee and purified thee—chosen thee above the women of all nations.
6 O Mary! worship thy Lord devoutly, prostrate thyself, and bow in prayer with those who bow down.
7 O Mary! God giveth thee the good news of a word from Him; his name will be Jesus the Messiah.2 He will be held in honour in this world and the world to come and will be of the company of those nearest to God.
8 He shall speak to the people in infancy and in manhood, and he shall be of the company of the righteous.3
9 He shall be an example to the children of Israel and a knowledge for the hour.4
10 Mary said, O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath touched me and I am not unchaste?
11 He said, Even so it shall be; God createth what He willeth; for when He decides upon a plan, He saith to it, “Be”! and it is.5
12 Because Jesus was made with God’s creative word “Be,” he was called a word from God.
13 So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.
14 And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree, and she cried, Ah! would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!
15 But a voice cried to her from beneath the palm tree, Grieve not, for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee;
16 And shake towards thyself the trunk of the tree: it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.
17 So eat and drink and cool thine eyes. If thou dost see any man, say, I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious, and this day I enter into no talk with any human being.
18 Then she came to her people carrying the babe in her arms. They said, O Mary! Truly an amazing thing thou hast brought.
19 O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!
20 But she pointed to the babe. They said, How can we talk to an infant in the cradle.6
21 But the child spoke up and said, I am indeed a servant of God. He hath appointed me as a sign for men and a mercy from Him. This was a matter decreed.
22 He will give me the Book and make me His messenger to the children of Israel.
23 That I may verify the Torah and make lawful for Israel part of what was forbidden to them.
24 That I may teach to them wisdom and make clear to them some of the things, in which they disputed.7
The Qur’anic text
The passages of the Qur’an that this chapter follows. All the passages are gathered on The Qur’an on Jesus.
Mary Chosen over All Women
3:42 And ˹remember˺ when the angels said, “O Mary! Surely God has selected you, purified you, and chosen you over all women of the world.
3:43 O Mary! Be devout to your Lord, prostrate yourself ˹in prayer˺ and bow along with those who bow down.”
3:44 This is news of the unseen that We reveal to you ˹O Prophet˺. You were not with them when they cast lots to decide who would be Mary’s guardian, nor were you there when they argued ˹about it˺.
Good News of Jesus Christ
3:45 ˹Remember˺ when the angels proclaimed, “O Mary! God gives you good news of a Word8 from Him, his name will be the Messiah9, Jesus, son of Mary; honoured in this world and the Hereafter, and he will be one of those nearest ˹to God˺.
3:46 And he will speak to people in ˹his˺ infancy and adulthood and will be one of the righteous.”
3:47 Mary wondered, “My Lord! How can I have a child when no man has ever touched me?” An angel replied, “So will it be. God creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, ‘Be!’ And it is!
Gabriel Visits Mary
19:16 And mention in the Book ˹O Prophet, the story of˺ Mary when she withdrew from her family to a place in the east,
19:17 screening herself off from them. Then We sent to her Our angel, ˹Gabriel,˺ appearing before her as a man, perfectly formed.
19:18 She appealed, “I truly seek refuge in the Most Compassionate from you! ˹So leave me alone˺ if you are God-fearing.”
19:19 He responded, “I am only a messenger from your Lord, ˹sent˺ to bless you with a pure son.”
19:20 She wondered, “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me, nor am I unchaste?”
19:21 He replied, “So will it be! Your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me. And so will We make him a sign for humanity and a mercy from Us.’ It is a matter ˹already˺ decreed.”
Birth of Jesus Christ
19:22 So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a remote place.
19:23 Then the pains of labour drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She cried, “Alas! I wish I had died before this, and was a thing long forgotten!”
19:24 So a voice10 reassured her from below her, “Do not grieve! Your Lord has provided a stream at your feet.
19:25 And shake the trunk of this palm tree towards you, it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon you.
19:26 So eat and drink, and put your heart at ease. But if you see any of the people, say, ‘I have vowed silence11 to the Most Compassionate, so I am not talking to anyone today.’”
Reaction to Baby Jesus
19:27 Then she returned to her people, carrying him. They said ˹in shock˺, “O Mary! You have certainly done a horrible thing!
19:28 O sister of Aaron!12 Your father was not an indecent man, nor was your mother unchaste.”
19:29 So she pointed to the baby. They exclaimed, “How can we talk to someone who is an infant in the cradle?”
Baby Jesus Talks
19:30 Jesus declared, “I am truly a servant of God. He has destined me to be given the Scripture and to be a prophet.
19:31 He has made me a blessing wherever I go, and bid me to establish prayer and give alms-tax as long as I live,
19:32 and to be kind to my mother. He has not made me arrogant or defiant.
19:33 Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I will be raised back to life!”
Prophet Jesus and His Mother
21:91 And ˹remember˺ the one who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her through Our angel, ˹Gabriel,˺13 making her and her son a sign for all peoples.
From the Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings and tells nothing of the birth. The stories of the infancy found under the name of Thomas belong to a different and later work, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. It keeps one saying that touches on the mother of Jesus:
- Agrees Thomas 79. A woman calls blessed the womb that bore him. Jesus calls blessed those who hear the Father’s word and keep it. Days will come when people bless the womb that never bore. (Compare Luke 11:27-28.)14
Sayings that conflict with the Qur’an, and sayings that only repeat another, are listed with the reason for each on the page of sayings set aside.
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Notes
- Qur’an 19:16-19. ↩
- In connection with Jesus, this is the only use of the Jewish messianic language in the Qur’an. That it is said, “His name will be Jesus the Messiah,” and not, for example, “His name will be Jesus and he will be appointed as the Messiah,” suggests a less than whole-hearted acceptance of the messiahship of Jesus on the part of the Qur’an. It is as if the Qur’an is saying: Jesus came to be accepted as the Messiah and one may continue to use the title for him, if nothing else, as a courtesy to the Christian tradition. This hesitation to present Jesus as the Messiah and the lack of the messianic language in describing his work is justified. For one thing Jesus himself showed hesitation in coming forward as the Messiah (Mark 8:27-30, etc), who, it must be admitted, was a somewhat confused figure created as much by rabbinical imaginations as by genuine prophetic revelation. Second, there does not exist a convincing correspondence between what was generally expected of the Messiah and what Jesus did. And, finally, although Jesus did make use of the messianic expectations of his people, the significance of his work is not adequately described in terms of those expectations; for, otherwise, Jesus’ mission would not have survived after he had failed in bringing about the messianic kingdom. ↩
- Qur’an 3:42-46. In 3:44, the Qur’an introduces an intriguing note:
“This is part of the tidings of the things unseen which We reveal to thee by inspiration: Thou wast not with them when they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary: Nor wast thou with them when they disputed the matter.”
In apocryphal Gospels, it is related that the priests contended for taking charge of Mary, and the matter was decided in favor of Zacharias by means of rods or reeds. The above Qur’anic verse is, however, not telling exactly the same story; for Mary was already in the charge of Zacharias (3:37). We may be tempted to regard the verse as having been displaced, but, conceptually, the only better place we can find for it is between 3:36 and 3:37; however, it does not fit there linguistically. It seems better to read the verse in its present context and to assume that Zacharias had died and the contention among the priests arose out of a search for a substitute. The priests’ interest in a religious, young, and beautiful girl is understandable: she could be a most desirable wife in the future for any one of them. ↩ - Qur’an 43:59, 61. Jesus can be called “a knowledge of the Hour” in two senses:
a. He preached the imminence of the Hour, or the day of the Lord, and became one of the greatest instrument of establishing in the world the belief and knowledge about it, so that he is a knowledge of the Hour in the sense of being a source of that knowledge.
b. According to Hadith, Jesus’ Second Coming is one of the signs of the coming of the Hour, and thus when he returns the world will know that the Hour is at hand. We may therefore regard Jesus a knowledge of the Hour in the sense of being a sign for it. ↩ - Qur’an 3:47; 19.20-21. ↩
- Qur’an 19:22-29. ↩
- Qur’an 3:50; 19:21, 30; 43:63. ↩
- In the Quran, Jesus is called the “Word” of God since he was created with the word “Be!” ↩
- Messiah means the “anointed one.” It is used in the Quran exclusively as a title for Jesus Christ. ↩
- This was the voice of baby Jesus. Some say it was Gabriel. ↩
- lit., fast ˹from speech˺. Linguistically, means to abstain from something, such as food, speaking, and playing. ↩
- His twin in virtue. They meant that they did not expect her to do something like that because they held her in high esteem like Aaron, Moses’ brother (perhaps because she was his descendant). ↩
- Gabriel breathed into the sleeves of Mary’s garment so she conceived Jesus. ↩
- Luke 11:27-28. Thomas says “the Father’s word” where Luke says “the word of God”, and it is read here as Luke has it (see the note on “Father” on the page of sayings set aside). Agrees with Qur’an 3:42-47, where Maryam is honoured, and with 19:30-31, where the child states what he was commanded. ↩