Tafsir of Maryam 19:5

{And indeed, I fear the Mawali}: They are a man's agnatic kinsmen (‘asabah), according to what has been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) and Mujahid. Al-Asamm stated that they are the paternal cousins—those who are closest to him in lineage. It has also been said: those who take charge of one's affairs among one's relatives in a general sense. According to all these interpretations, they were the evil ones among the Children of Israel. Thus, he (peace be upon him) feared that they would not be good successors to him among his people.

The sentence is a conjunction to his saying: {My bones have grown feeble}, and its meaning is contingent upon the former. For the weakness of strength and the onset of old age are among the origins of his fear (peace be upon him) regarding those who would take charge of his affairs after his death, as indicated by his saying: {from behind me}. By the consensus of the exegetes known to us, the intent of this is: "after my death."

The prepositional phrase (jar wa majrur) is connected to an implied word to which the mind is directed—that is, "I fear the conduct of the Mawali from behind me," or "the injustice of the Mawali." It has been read in this way, as in Irshad al-‘Aql al-Salim. It is permissible to connect it to Mawali, and it suffices for that connection that the meaning of the verb exists within it to some extent; for they have said: "The mere 'scent' of a verb is sufficient for the attachment of a circumstantial adverb (zarf); it is not required for it to denote occurrence, such as an active or passive participle, to the extent of needing to force an explanation." Thus, it is said that the lam in al-Mawali is a definite article, the zarf is connected to its relative clause, and Mawla is a contraction of Mawwali—just as it is said that ma'na (meaning) is a contraction of ma'wana. But this is a far-fetched interpretation for which there is no need. Indeed, they said regarding the resulting meaning in this case: "I fear those who will take charge of the affair after me."

Al-Zamakhshari did not permit its connection to khiftu (I feared) due to the corruption of the meaning. He clarified this in al-Kashf by stating that the preposition is not a complement to the verb because the verb acts upon the object of fear directly without an intermediary. Thus, it must be an adverb of place, in the manner of "I feared the lion [while you were] before me" or "from before me." In that case, it would necessitate that the fear remains fixed after his death, which is visibly corrupt. Some scholars have viewed the connection as permissible based on the premise that the existence of the object within a specific context justifies the connection of that context to its verb, such as saying, "I threw the game in the sanctuary," if the game was within it, rather than your act of throwing being within it. The apparent view is the impermissibility of this, so understand this. Ibn Jinni said: It is a circumstantial state (hal) estimated from the Mawali.

Ibn Kathir read it as wa-min wara-ya, shortened, with the ya opened, like ‘asaya. Al-Zuhri read al-Mawali with a quiescent ya. Uthman ibn Affan, Ibn ‘Abbas, Zayd ibn Thabit, ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn and his two sons Muhammad and Zayd, Sa‘id ibn al-‘As, Ibn Jubayr, Abu Ya‘mur, Shubayl ibn ‘Azrah, and al-Walid ibn Muslim (for Ibn ‘Amir) read: khaffatu with a fatha on the kha and the fa emphasized (shaddah), and the feminine ta kasra, with al-Mawali having a quiescent ya. This is based on khaffa meaning lightness, the opposite of heaviness. The meaning of min wara-ya then becomes: "Indeed, the Mawali have become few and incapable of performing the affairs of the religion after me." Alternatively, it is from khufuf (speed), meaning rapid departure; the meaning of min wara-ya would then be "before me," meaning: "Indeed, the Mawali who are capable of establishing the rites of the creed and the interests of the community have died and passed on before me, and none remain who possess the strength or capacity to support [the cause]." Thus, he is in need of an heir because his Mawali are incapable of carrying out after him what he currently upholds, or because they died before him, leaving him in need of someone to strengthen him. The connection of the prepositional phrase in the second interpretation is clear. As for the first, if one considers that their incapacity and scarcity will occur after him—not that it is occurring at the time of his supplication—then its connection to the verb is also correct. If it is not so, it connects to something else.

{And my wife is barren}—meaning, she does not give birth from the time of her youth to her old age. ‘Aqr (with fatha or damma) is sterility, and it is said that ‘aqir (barren) applies to both male and female. {So grant me from Yourself}—both prepositional phrases are connected to hab (grant), and the lam is a complement to it; min is for the initiation of the limit (ibtida’ al-ghayah) metaphorically. The first is placed earlier because its meaning is more important to him. It is permissible to connect the second to an implied word that functions as a circumstantial state (hal) for the coming object. The discussion on ladun has already passed. The intent is: "Give me from the purity of Your vast grace and Your overwhelming power by way of ikhtira’ (divine origination), not by way of ordinary causes." It is said the meaning is: "Give me from Your grace however You wish."

{A successor}—meaning a child from my own loins, which is the apparent meaning. This is supported by His (the Exalted) saying in Surah Al ‘Imran, narrating from him (peace be upon him): {He said, "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring"}. It is said that he (peace be upon him) requested one who would take his place and inherit from him, whether it be a child or otherwise. It is also said: He (peace be upon him) had despaired of having a child with his wife, so he requested someone who would inherit from him and take his place from among the rest of the people. Neither of these two statements is reliable. Al-Zamakhshari claimed that {from Yourself} is an emphasis that the successor is pleasing, and the hidden weakness in this claim is evident.

The delaying of the object after the two prepositional phrases is to manifest the perfection of concern that the gift be granted to him in that wondrous manner, along with the element of suspense for what is delayed. Also, because there is a type of lengthiness due to the description following it, placing them after the whole [phrase]—or inserting them between the described and the description—is not in accordance with the eloquence of the Noble Qur’an. The fa is for the ordering of what follows upon what preceded it; for what he (peace be upon him) mentioned—of old age, weakness of strength, and the wife's sterility—is the cause for the severance of his hope (peace be upon him) regarding the attainment of a child through ordinary causes, and for his petitioning for one in a manner that transcends custom.

It is said: Because that is the cause for the severance of his hope regarding the attainment of a child from her while she is in that state, and his petitioning for one in the manner that Allah wills. This is built upon the second opinion regarding the meaning of {Grant me from Yourself a successor}, but the first is superior. It does not detract from what was mentioned that there might have been another motive for turning toward supplication, namely his witnessing of the evident miracles regarding Maryam, as His (the Exalted) saying indicates: {There, Zakariya called upon his Lord}. Its non-mention here is because it relies upon what was mentioned there, just as the non-mention of the introduction of the supplication there is because it suffices to mention it here. It is one of the principles of revelation to suffice with what is mentioned in one place for what is left out in another.