Surah Maryam

Introduction

It is famously named as such, and this has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Al-Tabarani, Abu Nu'aym, and al-Daylami narrated through the path of Abu Bakr bin Abdullah bin Abi Maryam al-Ghassani, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: "I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said: 'A daughter was born to me tonight.' He said: 'And tonight, Surah Maryam was revealed to me.'" It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that it is named "Surah Kaf-Ha-Ya-'Ayn-Sad."

It is Meccan, as narrated from Aisha, Ibn Abbas, and Ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them all. Muqatil said: It is so, except for the verse of prostration, for it is Medinan and was revealed after the believers migrated to Abyssinia. In al-Itqan, it is also noted that the saying of the Exalted, "And there is none of you except that he will come to it," is an exception [to its Meccan classification].

According to the Iraqis and the Syrians, it contains ninety-eight verses, while according to the Meccans, it contains ninety-nine. There are two opinions among the Medinans.

The rationale for its connection to Surah al-Kahf is its inclusion of wonders similar to those contained therein, such as the story of the birth of Yahya and the story of the birth of Isa, peace be upon them. For this reason, it is mentioned after it. It has been said that the People of the Cave will be resurrected before the Hour and will perform Hajj with Isa, peace be upon him, when he descends. Thus, mentioning this Surah after that one—if what has been said is established—possesses a significance that is not hidden. This is further strengthened by the claim that they were from his people, peace be upon him, among other opinions.

Ibn Mardawayh recorded from al-Kalbi that when he was asked about this, he narrated from Abu Salih, from Umm Hani’, from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), that he said: "Kāf is Hādī (Guide), ʿĀlim (Knower), Ṣādiq (Truthful)."

Narrations from Ibn Abbas differ. In one narration, he said: "Kāf is from Karīm (Generous), Hā from Hādī (Guide), Yā from Ḥakīm (Wise), ʿAyn from ʿAlīm (All-Knowing), and Ṣād from Ṣādiq (Truthful)."

In another, he said: "Kabīr (Great), Hādī (Guide), Amīn (Trustworthy), ʿAzīz (Mighty), Ṣādiq (Truthful)."

In yet another, he said: "It is an oath by which Allah the Exalted has sworn, and it is one of the names of Allah the Exalted."

In another, he used to say: "Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād, Ḥā Mīm, Yā Sīn, and similar instances—this is the Greatest Name of Allah." Support for this is found in what was recorded by Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Darimi, Ibn Majah, and Ibn Jarir from Fatima bint Ali, who said: "Ali (may Allah honor his face) used to say: 'O Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād, forgive me.'"

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn Mas'ud and a group of the Companions that they said: "Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād are disjointed letters: Kāf from al-Malik (the King), Hā from Allah, Yā and ʿAyn from al-ʿAzīz (the Mighty), and Ṣād from al-Muṣawwir (the Fashioner)." He also recorded from Muhammad ibn Ka'b something similar, except he did not mention the Yā, and he said: "Ṣād is from al-Ṣamad (the Eternal Refuge)."

It was also recorded from al-Rabi' ibn Anas that he said regarding this: "O You who grants sanctuary and is not granted sanctuary against."

Abd al-Razzaq and 'Abd ibn Humayd recorded from Qatadah that it is one of the names of the Quran. It is said that it is the name of the Surah, which is the opinion of the majority. It is also said that they are letters listed in the manner of enumeration; this is attributed to a group of researchers. Others delegated the knowledge of its reality to the Presence of the Knower of the Unseen.

The complete discussion on this and similar matters has already preceded at the beginning of Surah al-Baqarah, so recall it.

The majority recited Kāf with a quiescent fa. It is narrated from al-Hasan that he gave it a damma. Nafi' performed imalah (inclination) of the Hā and Yā between the two pronunciations. He pronounced the dāl of Ṣād clearly and did not assimilate it into the dhāl that follows, and this is the position of the majority.

Al-Hasan recited with a damma on the hā, and from him also with a damma on the yā and a kasra on the hā. From 'Asim, there is a narration of damma on the yā, and another of kasra on both. From Hamzah, there is the fathah of the hā and the kasra of the yā.

Abu al-Fadl 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Muqri' al-Razi said in his book al-Lawami': "The damma in these letters is not literal; otherwise, it would have been necessary to invert the alifs following them into waws. Rather, the intent is to incline these alifs toward the waw according to the dialect of the people of Hijaz, which is what is called the 'alif of tafkhim' (vocalization with weight), the opposite of imalah. This is a terminology similar to how they refer to the inclined fathah (which is close to a kasra) as 'kasrah' to approximate the alif that follows it to a ya." The rationale for imalah and tafkhim is that since these alifs have no origin, they sometimes treated them as derived from a waw and other times from a ya, making both permissible to avoid arbitrary choice.

Abu Ja'far recited these letters as distinct, separating some from others, which necessitates the quiescence of the end of each. The meeting of two quiescent letters is forgiven in the context of pausing. Abu 'Amr assimilated the dāl of Ṣād into the following dhāl. Hafs from 'Asim and a group recited with the clear nun of 'Ayn, while the majority preferred to soften (ikhfa') it.

There is a difference of opinion regarding their grammatical inflection (i'rab):

1. According to the view that each letter is one of the names of Allah the Exalted, neither the individual letters nor the whole phrase has a place in inflection.
2. It is said that each letter, assuming it is complete, is a predicate (khabar) for an omitted subject (mubtada'), i.e., "It is Kāf, it is Hādī," and so on. Or, the first is treated as complete and the rest are predicates following predicates.
3. Based on what is narrated from al-Rabi', it is said: "It is a vocative (munada), and it is one of the names of Allah the Exalted, meaning the One who grants sanctuary and is not granted sanctuary against."
4. It is also said that it has no place in inflection and is a word said in the place of invoking Allah by that title, like what is said "Mahīm" (What is the matter?) in the context of inquiring about a situation.

As you can see, according to the view that they are letters listed in the manner of enumeration, they said: "It has no place in inflection."