(And she said to his sister: "Follow him.")

And she said to his sister—who was Maryam, though it is said [her name was] Kulthama, and it is said Kulthum; the expression "his sister" is used rather than "her daughter" to explicitly show the bond of love that motivated her to comply with the command—"Follow him," meaning: trace his tracks and seek out his news.

It is apparent that this command occurred after her heart became empty. If she did not know his location at that time, the meaning is clear; and if she had known his location, she followed his news to determine whether they would kill him or not, and to uncover his state.

"So she caught sight of him," meaning: she saw him. The fa (so) is fasiha (eloquent), meaning: so she traced his steps, and [consequently] she caught sight of him. Qatada read it as fa-baṣarat (with a fatḥa on the ṣād), and ‘Isa [read it] with a kasra [on the ṣād].

"From a distance," meaning: from afar. It is said: it means out of longing for him; Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ala’ narrated this and said it is a dialect of the Judham tribe, who say "janabtu ilayka," meaning "I longed for you." Al-Kirmani said "janabin" is an adjective for an omitted noun, meaning: from a side-location (janab), i.e., distant. It is as if it is from the addad (words with opposing meanings), for it can also mean "near," like al-jar al-junub (the neighbor who is near). It is also said: it means from a side (janib), because she was walking along the bank. It is also said: looking ‘an junubin means to look at a thing as if you do not desire it.

Qatada, al-Hasan, Zayd ibn ‘Ali, and al-A‘raj read it as ‘an janbin (with a fatḥa on the jīm and a sukūn on the nūn). It is narrated that Qatada also read it with a fatḥa on both [the jīm and nūn], and from al-Hasan it is narrated with a ḍamma on the jīm and a sukūn on the nūn. Nu‘man ibn Salim read it as ‘an jānibin. All of them, it is said, carry the same meaning. In al-Baḥr, it is stated that al-junub, al-jānib, al-janābah, and al-janāb all carry the same meaning.

"While they were unaware" of her tracking him and investigating his condition, or [unaware] that she was his sister.