[Ali 'Imran: 44] That is from the news...

(That) is a demonstrative pronoun referring to what has preceded of those reports which are wondrous in status, ascending to the highest degree of strangeness. It is a subject whose predicate is the saying of the Exalted: (of the news of the unseen), meaning: from the reports of that which was hidden from you and your people, and which cannot be known except through revelation, as indicated by the context. The sentence is a new beginning (isti'naf) and has no place in grammatical inflection. The saying of the Exalted: (we reveal it to you) is an independent sentence explaining the first.

Al-Iha'a (revelation) is the conveyance of a meaning to another in a hidden manner. It can mean sending an angel to the prophets, and it can mean inspiration. The pronoun in (we reveal it) is popularly held to refer back to "that" (the demonstration), though it is deemed better for it to refer to "the unseen," because in that case, it encompasses both the stories that have preceded and those that have not—unlike if it refers to "that," which suggests an exclusivity to what has passed.

It is permitted that this sentence be a predicate for the subject preceding it, and (of the news of the unseen) is either linked to "we reveal" or is a circumstantial state (hal) of the object—meaning: "We reveal it while it is a portion of the news of the unseen." Some consider it a circumstantial state of the subject. Abu al-Baqa' permitted the estimation that the implicit meaning is "The matter is 'that'," making "that" the predicate of an omitted subject, and the prepositional phrase as a circumstantial state of it; however, this is a rejected view upon which the speech of the Majestic King should not be interpreted.

The use of the future tense form, according to some, is to signal that revelation has not yet ceased.

(And you were not with them), meaning: with those who were disputing. The pronoun refers to a party not mentioned but indicated by the meaning. The intention of this sentence is to verify that these reports are by way of revelation, as a mockery of those who deny it. It is as if it were said: "Our Messenger has informed you of that which you have no way of knowing by reason, while you confess that he did not hear it nor read it in a book, yet you deny it is revelation. Therefore, nothing remains that needs denial except the observation (of the events), which is the most obvious of things to be negated, as its impossibility is known to all rational people."

He drew attention to the proof of the story of Mary, even though what was known by revelation was the story of Zakariyya (peace be upon him) as well, because "those" (reports) are primarily intended by the news, and the other story came by way of digression; and because a portion of the story of Zakariyya is included in the mention of "who would take care [of her]." Thus, the sentence is not devoid of an indication of his story in general.

It is narrated from Qatada that the intention of this sentence is for Allah, the Exalted, to cause His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to wonder at the intense eagerness of the people to take charge of Mary and undertake her affairs, and this was brought forth as an affirmation of her chosen status (peace be upon her). This view is weakened by the separation between the intensifier and the intensified. Yet, it is better than what was said: that the intention is to wonder at their vying for her guardianship due to the severity of the situation and the increased need that befell them, until Zakariyya (peace be upon him) was granted the best of guardians. Indeed, this latter view is almost incorrect in both transmission and reasoning. Regardless, in any case, there is no problem in denying the observation, given that its negation is obvious to everyone.

(When they were casting their pens), meaning: throwing and casting them for the drawing of lots. "Pens" (al-aqlam) is the plural of "pen," which they used to write the Torah with, and they chose them as a blessing. It is also said: they were arrows from a quiver, i.e., the divining arrows. Al-Kazaruni narrated that they were made of copper. The word is taken from qalam (cutting), as in the clipping of a fingernail (qulamat al-zufur). The method of throwing has been described previously. There is disagreement regarding the number of pens; according to al-Baqir, there were six. The prepositional phrase serves as a predicate for the "being" (istaqarr) acting in "with them." To make it a container for "were" (kana), as Abu al-Baqa' said, is nothing.

(Which of them would take charge of Mary) is part of the first discourse. To make it the beginning of a question ruins the meaning. Since "throwing" is not suitable to be linked to an interrogative, it is necessary to estimate what the structure relates to. The majority of scholars gave three views:

1. To estimate "they look at... which of them..." Since looking is that which leads to perception, it is permissible for it to relate to the interrogative noun, just like verbs of the heart (as stated by Ibn al-Hajib and Ibn Malik in at-Tashil).
2. To estimate "in order to know which of them..." In the first case, the sentence is a circumstantial state of what precedes it; in the second, it is in the position of the maf'ul lahu (causative object). It is not hidden that the casting is the cause of the knowledge itself, but it is a distant cause, while the near cause is looking at which of the pens rose.
3. To estimate "they say" or "let them say... which of them." It was objected that there is no benefit worth considering in estimating "they say," nor does the meaning lead to it; rather, it is a mere linguistic correction for the placement of "which of them." It was replied that it is useful and the meaning leads to it, based on the fact that "the saying" here is a saying for clarification and designation. It was also objected that estimating "the saying" coupled with the lam of causation implies that this causation has no meaning here. It was replied to by interpreting it as was interpreted in the previous case. It is also said that it is interpreted as "judging," i.e., "Let them speak and judge which of them..." As-Sakkaki estimates here "they look in order to know." Perhaps that is for the sake of observing both the meaning and the wording; otherwise, the estimation of looking or knowing suffices for the other. Some investigators estimated nothing at all and made "which of them" a substitute for the collective pronoun—meaning: "Each one who intended guardianship and was capable of it cast [his pen]." It is not hidden that this is highly contrived.

(And you were not with them when they were disputing)

(regarding her affair), competing for her guardianship. This dispute was after the drawing of lots, according to one opinion, and before it, according to another. The repetition of (And you were not with them), while the intended meaning is achieved by coordinating (when they were disputing) with (when they were casting), is to signal that each one of the absence at the casting and the absence at the dispute is independently sufficient as a testimony to his prophethood (peace and blessings be upon him), especially according to the second opinion regarding the time of the dispute, because changing the order of mention confirms that. This was stated by the Shaykh al-Islam.

There is disagreement regarding the time of this casting of lots and the vying for it: One view, which is the famous and relied-upon one, is that it was at the time of her birth and her mother’s bringing her to the temple, as we indicated before. The second is that it was at the time she had grown up and Zakariyya (peace be upon him) was unable to raise her. This is a weak opinion. Even weaker is the claim of those who say the drawing of lots happened twice: once in childhood and once in adulthood.

In this verse is an indication that the drawing of lots has a role in distinguishing rights. It is narrated from al-Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "No group ever cast lots and delegated their affair to Allah the Mighty and Majestic except that the lot of the one who was in the right emerged." And he said: "What matter is more just than the matter when the affair is delegated to Allah, the Exalted? Does Allah not say: 'So he cast lots and was among the losers' (37:141)?" And al-Baqir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The first person over whom lots were cast was Mary, daughter of 'Imran," then he recited: (And you were not with them when they were casting their pens).