Mary (Maryam): (20-21) She said, "How can I have a child..."

There are several issues herein:

She was only astonished by the news Gabriel (peace be upon him) brought because she knew by custom that childbirth only occurs from a male. Customs are considered valid in matters by people of knowledge, even if they permit the contrary regarding God's Power. Her statement does not indicate that she was unaware of God's ability to create offspring ab initio (from nothing). How could she be unaware, when she knew that God created the father of mankind (Adam) in this manner? Furthermore, since she was devoted to worship alone, anyone in such a state must know God's power over such a creation.

Someone might ask: Her statement, {And no man has touched me} (v. 20), already encompasses her statement, {nor have I been unchaste} (v. 20). Why did she repeat it? This question is reinforced by the fact that in Surah Al 'Imran, she only said: {My Lord, how can I have a child when no man has touched me?} (3:47), and she did not mention unchastity.

The answer has several aspects:

1. She used "touched" (مسس) as an expression for lawful marriage (Nikah), as it is a metaphor for it, based on the verse: {before you touch them} (Al-Ahzab: 49). Adultery (Zina) is not referred to this way; rather, one says "she committed fornication with him" or similar phrases. It is unsuitable to use metaphors in such a context.
2. The repetition serves to magnify her status, similar to saying: {Guard strictly your Salawats, and the middle Salawat} (Al-Baqarah: 238), or mentioning: {and His angels and His Messengers, and Gabriel and Michael}. Similarly here, any woman unknown to have a husband, if she were to bear a child, the most severe assumption about her would be that she is an adulteress. Therefore, mentioning unchastity separately, after the initial statement, emphasizes the greatest potential accusation in this category.

The author of Al-Kashshaf said that al-Baghīy is the wicked woman who seeks out men. Al-Mubarrad stated that the form is fa'ūl (بُغُوِيّ), where the wāw was assimilated into the yā’. Ibn Jinni, in his book Al-Tamām, said the form is fa'īl. If it were fa'ūl, it would have been pronounced baghawā (بَغَوَا), just as one says nahaw (نَهَوَا) for "they forbade evil" (referring to nahy).

Gabriel (peace be upon him) answered her with: {He said, "So it will be; your Lord says, 'That is easy for Me'} (v. 21). This is similar to what is stated in Al 'Imran: {He said, "So it will be; your Lord says, 'That is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us.' And it is a decree fulfilled"} (3:47). It is not impossible for Him to do what He wills to create, nor does He require instruments or materials for His creation.

The pronouns in {it is easy for Me} (هو على هين) and {and We will make him a sign to mankind} (ولنجعله ءاية للناس) can be interpreted in two ways:

1. Referring to the Creation: That His creation of the child is easy for Him, and that He will make His creation a sign for mankind. This is because the child was born without a father, and it is a mercy from Him to His servants by manifesting such signs, making the evidence of His truth more brilliant, thus bringing acceptance of His word closer.
2. Referring to the Child (the Youth): Since she was astonished by how this matter occurred contrary to custom, God informed her that He would make her child a sign demonstrating the occurrence of this strange event.

As for the phrase {and a mercy from Us} (ورحمة منا), it can be:

• Conjoined to {and We will make him a sign to mankind}, meaning: We did this as a mercy from Us.
• Conjoined to the sign itself, meaning: We will make him a sign and a mercy.

{And it was a decreed matter} (وكان أمرا مقضيا) means it was known by God's Knowledge, making it impossible for its opposite to occur. If it did not occur, God's Knowledge would turn into ignorance, which is impossible. Since what leads to the impossible is impossible, its opposite is also impossible, and its occurrence is obligatory.

Furthermore, all contingent beings ultimately terminate in the chain of Divine Decree and Predestination (Qada' wa Qadar) to the Necessary Existent (Wajib al-Wujud). That which terminates in the Necessary Existent must itself be necessary in its termination. If it is necessary, then grief and sorrow are pointless. This is the secret behind the saying (peace be upon him): "Whoever knows the secret of God concerning destiny, calamities become easy for him."

7 < { So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a remote place. * Then the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, "Oh, I wish I had died before this and had become a thing forgotten!" } > 7 !