Tafsir of Maryam 19:4-6

Surah Maryam (19): Verses 4–6

[He said:] "My Lord! Indeed, I have become frail in age, and my wife is barren..."

First Issue: The word {وَهَنَ} (weakened) has been read with the three possible vowel markings (on the wāw).

Second Issue: The sīn (س) is assimilated into the shīn (ش) in the phrase {مِنَ الرَّأْسِ شَيْبًا} (gray hair from the head) according to 'Āṣim's recitation (Abu 'Amr).

Third Issue: Regarding {وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ} (and indeed, I feared the successors/relatives):

1. It is read with the yā’ open (voweled).
2. Al-Zuhri read it with a quiescent yā’ (إسكان الياء).
3. 'Uthmān, 'Alī ibn al-Husayn, Muḥammad ibn 'Alī, Sa'īd ibn Jubayr, Zayd ibn Thābit, and Ibn 'Abbās read {خِفْتُ} with an open khā’ (خَـ) and a doubled fā’ (فّ), and a kasra on the tā’ (تِ). This implies two meanings:
   • Meaning 1: Min warā’ī (from behind me) means after me. The meaning is that they were few and incapable of upholding the religion after him, so he asked his Lord to strengthen them with a guardian He would provide.
   • Meaning 2: It means in front of me. The meaning is that they have already passed away and gone before him, leaving no one to support or rely upon.

Fourth Issue: The common reading for {مِنْ وَرَائِي} (from behind me) is with a hamza followed by a quiescent yā’. Ḥumayd ibn Qism read it similarly but with an open yā’ (فتح الياء). Ibn Kathīr read {وَرَائِي} (like 'aṣāy).

Fifth Issue: Regarding {مَنْ يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ} (who will inherit from me and inherit):

1. First reading: The common reading, with both verbs in the indicative mood (رفع), functioning as an adjective/description.
2. Second reading: The reading of Abu 'Amr, Al-Kisā’ī, Al-Zuhri, Al-A'mash, and Ṭalḥa, with both verbs in the jussive mood (جزم) as a response to the supplication.
3. Third reading: From 'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Ibn 'Abbās, Ja'far ibn Muḥammad, Al-Ḥasan, and Qatādah: {وَلِيًّا يَرِثُنِي} (a guardian who inherits from me), with yarithunī in the jussive mood, and wārith (inheritor) on the pattern of fā'il.
4. Fourth reading: From Ibn 'Abbās: {يَرِثُنِي وَارِثٌ} (inherits from me, an inheritor) from the lineage of Ya'qūb.
5. Fifth reading: From Al-Jaḥdarī: {وَيَرِثُ} (and inherits) as a diminutive of wārith on the pattern of af'yal.

Language:

• Al-Wahn (الوهن): Weakness of strength.
• In Al-Kashshāf, the gray hair is likened to the sparks of fire in its whiteness, radiance, and spread throughout the hair, consuming every strand like a burning flame. This is then used metaphorically, attributing the burning to the hair and its roots (the head), while the gray hair is mentioned as the specification (tamyīz). The head is not explicitly mentioned because the addressee knows it refers to Zakarīyā's head, making the sentence grammatically sound.
• Supplication (Du'ā') is the request for an action, and its counterpart is the response (الإجابة), just as the counterpart of a command (Amr) is obedience (Ṭā'ah).
• The root of the structure in {وَلِيّ} (guardian/successor) indicates closeness and proximity. One says wallytuhu ilayhi waliyyan (I drew him near to me). Awlaytuhu means I brought him close. What is distant moves away from wulī (nearness).
  • Example: Sa'idah ibn Ju'bah said: "The visitors returned, stopping short of your proximity, causing disturbance."
  • Everything that is near you (yalīk) and I sat near what is near me (ūlīhi).
  • Al-Walī is the rain that follows the first autumn rain (al-wasmī).
  • Al-Walīyah is the saddle-cloth because it lies next to the animal's back.
  • Walī al-yatīm (guardian of the orphan) and walī al-qatlī (guardian of the slain).
  • Walī al-balad (governor of the city) because whoever takes charge of a matter comes close to it.
  • The verse {فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ} (So turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque) comes from the saying wāllāhu bi-ruknih (he made it lean upon his side/support).
  • Wālā 'annī (he turned away from me) is from the pattern of making the middle part heavy to signify removal/negation.
  • Fulān awlā min fulān (So-and-so is more deserving than so-and-so) is the comparative form (af'al al-tafḍīl) derived from al-wālī or al-walī, like al-adnā (nearest) from al-dānī (near). This also carries the meaning of closeness, as the one most deserving of something is closest to it.
  • Al-Mawlā is a noun indicating the place of the walī, like al-marma (place of throwing) is for al-marmī (thrown).
• Al-'Āqir (العاقر): The one who does not give birth. Al-'aqr in language means wounding/injury, from which al-'āqir is derived because it is a defect in the original creation. A mare is ʿaqarat with a sword if its legs are struck.
• Al-Āl (الآل): The special people of a man to whom his affairs revert. Their affairs revert to him sometimes due to kinship, other times due to companionship (like the Āl of Pharaoh), or agreement in religion (like the Āl of the Prophet, peace be upon him).

Zakarīyā, peace be upon him, presented three matters before making his request:

1. His state of weakness.
2. The fact that Allah had never rejected his supplication.
3. That the object of the supplication would be a means of benefit in religion.

After establishing these three points, he stated his request.

The First Station: His Weakness The effect of weakness appears either internally or externally. Internal weakness is stronger than external weakness. Therefore, he began by explaining the internal weakness: {وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي} (My bones have grown frail).

• Bones are the hardest parts of the body, created so for two benefits:
  1. To serve as a foundation and pillar upon which the rest of the limbs rest, as all limbs are placed upon the bones. A carrier must be stronger than what is carried.
  2. They serve as protection in certain places, strengthening other parts, like the skull and the ribs. What is like this must be hard to endure afflictions and resistant to accepting harm.
• If the bone, the hardest part, reaches a state of weakness, then the weakness of the softer parts is more likely. Since the bone carries the rest of the body, weakness affecting the carrier necessitates weakness affecting the carried. This is why the bone was singled out for weakness among all the limbs.
• The external manifestation of weakness is the spread of gray hair over the head.
• Thus, this statement indicates the overwhelming nature of weakness in both the internal and external aspects, which strengthens the supplication by showing reliance on Allah's power and disavowal of apparent means.

The Second Station: Allah Never Rejected His Supplication The means of appeal here are twofold:

1. It is narrated that a needy person asked a great man, saying: "I am the one who benefited you at such-and-such a time." The great man replied: "Welcome to the one who used us as a means to reach us," and then fulfilled his need. If the great man had accepted him the first time and rejected him the second, the first favor would be nullified, and the Benefactor does not seek to nullify His own favors.
2. Going against habit is difficult for the soul. If a person becomes accustomed to having his supplication answered, being rejected afterward would cause extreme hardship. Harshness from one from whom favors are expected is even more severe. Zakarīyā was saying: "You never rejected me in the beginning when I was strong in body and heart. If you reject me now, after accustoming me to acceptance, while I am at the peak of weakness, this would reach the utmost limit of heartache."

• The Arabs say: "So-and-so was fortunate with his need" if he achieved it, and "unfortunate" if he failed to attain it.
• {بِدُعَائِكَ} (by your supplication) means by my supplication to You, as the verb can sometimes be attributed to the doer and sometimes to the recipient.

The Third Station: The Desired Object is Beneficial for Religion This is stated in {وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ مِنْ وَرَائِي} (and indeed, I feared the successors after me).

First Point: Interpretations of Al-Mawālī:

• Ibn 'Abbās and Al-Ḥasan: The inheritors after me.
• Mujāhid: The strong relatives (al-'aṣabah).
• Abu Ṣāliḥ: The kalālah (those without direct male descendants).
• Al-Aṣamm: Paternal uncles, those closest in lineage.
• Abu Muslim: Al-Mawlī means the helper, paternal uncle, owner, or companion. Here, it means those who will take his place regarding inheritance of his wealth or guardianship of his affairs after his death. Custom dictated that the closest person to the Lawgiver was the most designated successor.

Second Point: The nature of his fear of Al-Mawālī:

• Some said: He feared them corrupting the religion.
• Others said: He feared that his affairs (wealth, etc.) would end up with them after his death, knowing their deficiency in knowledge and ability to hold that high position.
• A third view: Allah might have informed him that among the Prophets of the Children of Israel, only one had a father who was also a Prophet. He feared this lineage might end with his paternal cousins since he had no son, so he asked Allah to grant him a son who would be that Prophet. This implies a fear concerning a matter that concerns Prophets, even if the details are not specified.
• It is possible Zakarīyā held political authority alongside prophethood (related to kingship or imamate), and he feared them regarding one or both of these roles after him.

Regarding the Tense of Fear and Barrenness:

• {وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ} (I feared), although in the past tense, implies the future as well. A man says: "I feared that such-and-such might happen," meaning "I am fearful," not that the fear has ceased.
• Similarly, {وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا} (and my wife was barren) means she is barren in the present, because a barren woman does not typically become fertile. Using the past tense informs about the long duration of this state. Zakarīyā's goal was to show the improbability of having a child, and the past tense was stronger for this purpose. This also applies to {وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ}; he intended to report the duration of the fear, and the context of the request for an heir and the expression of need sufficed to indicate the present existence of the fear. Sometimes the past tense is used for the future, and vice versa (e.g., the verse about 'Īsā on the Day of Judgment).

Regarding {مِنْ وَرَائِي} (after me):

1. Abu 'Ubaydah said: It means in front of me or before me.
2. Others said: After my death. Both are plausible.
   • If asked: How did he fear them after his death and how did he know they would remain to be feared? Answer: This can be known through signs and assumptions, which are sufficient to cause fear. He might have known through certain signs that they would continue their corrupt habits.

Regarding {فَهَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا} (So grant me from Yourself a guardian):

• The majority hold that he requested a son.
• Others say he requested someone to succeed him, whether a son or not. The first view is closer for three reasons:
  1. In Surah Āl 'Imrān, he says: {رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً} (My Lord, grant me from Yourself righteous offspring).
  2. In this Surah: {هَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ}.
  3. In Surah Al-Anbiyā': {رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْنِي فَرْدًا} (My Lord, do not leave me alone). This indicates he asked for a son, as Surah Maryam mentions he had successors (mawālī) and was not alone regarding heirs. While this could refer to a successor who is not a son, the reference to a son is more apparent.
• Those holding the third view argue that when he was promised a son, he expressed astonishment: {أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ} (How can I have a boy?). If his request was solely for a son, this astonishment would not be necessary.
  • Response: He was asking whether the gift would be granted to him and his wife in their current state, or whether Allah would transform them into young people capable of having children. Some attribute this interpretation to Al-Ḥasan. Others suggest that Zakarīyā's statement {وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا} meant he was asking for a son either from her (if Allah made her fertile) or from someone else. Thus, when he was promised the boy, he asked if the offspring would be from her or another woman, and he was informed it would be from her.

Interpretations of Inheritance (Mīrāth):

1. Inheritance of wealth in both instances (from him and from the lineage of Ya'qūb). This is the view of Ibn 'Abbās, Al-Ḥasan, and Al-Ḍaḥḥāk.
2. Inheritance of Prophethood in both instances. This is the view of Abu Ṣāliḥ.
3. He inherits wealth, and the lineage of Ya'qūb inherits Prophethood. This is the view of Al-Suddī, Mujāhid, and Al-Sha'bī, and is also narrated from Ibn 'Abbās, Al-Ḥasan, and Al-Ḍaḥḥāk.
4. He inherits knowledge, and the lineage of Ya'qūb inherits Prophethood. This is narrated from Mujāhid.

These narrations converge on five matters: wealth, the position of religious authority (ḥibūrah), knowledge, Prophethood, and good conduct/governance. The term irth (inheritance) is used for all of them:

• For wealth, due to {وَأَوْرَثَكُمْ أَرْضَهُمْ وَدِيَارَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ}.
• For knowledge, due to {وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْهُدَى وَأَوْرَثْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْكِتَابَ} (We gave Moses guidance and bequeathed the Book to the Children of Israel), and the Prophet's saying: "The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets; the Prophets did not bequeath gold or silver; they bequeathed knowledge." Also, {وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ عِلْمًا وَقَالَا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي فَضَّلَنَا عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ * وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَانُ دَاوُودَ} (We gave David and Solomon knowledge... And Solomon inherited David), which can imply inheritance of kingship and prophethood.

Arguments for Wealth Inheritance:

• Narration: The Prophet's saying: "May Allah have mercy on Zakarīyā! He had no one to inherit from him," which suggests wealth inheritance.
• Reasoning:
  1. Knowledge, good conduct, and Prophethood are acquired through effort, not inherited. Thus, it must refer to wealth.
  2. He asked: {وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا} (and make him, my Lord, pleasing). If inheritance meant Prophethood, he would be asking Allah to make the Prophet (who is already pleasing/righteous) pleasing, which is impossible as a Prophet is inherently pleasing and infallible.

Arguments for Knowledge/Position Inheritance:

• The concern of Prophets is more intense regarding knowledge and position than wealth. Perhaps he was given worldly possessions that were greatly beneficial for religion, hence his concern.
• How is Prophethood inherited? Inheritance (wirāthah) is used when a son takes the place of his father in managing something and deriving benefit from it, even though the ownership ultimately belongs to Allah. Similarly, if it is known that the son will become a Prophet after him and manage the religious affairs, it is permissible to say he inherited it.
• Regarding the Prophet's saying: {إِنَّا مَعْشَرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ لَا نُورِّثُ} (We, the company of Prophets, do not bequeath), although this can apply to one person (like {إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ}), its reality is plural, and abandoning the literal meaning without cause is not permissible, especially since the plural form ma'āshir is also narrated.
• The most appropriate interpretation is that it covers everything beneficial for religion: Prophethood, knowledge, good conduct, beneficial religious position, and righteous wealth, as there is a strong incentive for these to remain continuously beneficial.

Seventh Issue: Identifying Ya'qūb

• The majority of commentators agree that Ya'qūb here is Ya'qūb, son of Isḥāq, son of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon them). This is because Zakarīyā's wife was the sister of Maryam, and Maryam was from the lineage of Sulaymān, son of Dāwūd, from the tribe of Judah, son of Ya'qūb. Zakarīyā, peace be upon him, was from the lineage of Hārūn, brother of Mūsā, and they were from the lineage of Lāwī, son of Ya'qūb, son of Isḥāq. Prophethood was in the tribe of Ya'qūb because he was Isrā'īl.
• Some commentators say the Ya'qūb mentioned is not the son of Isḥāq, but Ya'qūb ibn Maithān, the brother of 'Imrān ibn Maithān. The Āl Ya'qūb would then be the maternal uncles of Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā. This is the view of Al-Kalbī and Muqātil. Al-Kalbī stated that the sons of Maithān were the leaders and kings of the Children of Israel, and Zakarīyā was the chief scholar (ra’s al-aḥbār) at that time, so he wanted his son to inherit his scholarship (ḥibūrah) and inherit the kingship from the sons of Maithān.

Interpretations of {وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا} (And make him, my Lord, pleasing):

1. Make him pleasing among the Prophets. Since all Prophets are pleasing, the one who is raḍīy among them is superior to the rest, excelling them in many matters. Allah answered him by granting him a master, restrained, and righteous Prophet who was never disobedient or intended disobedience—the highest state of being pleasing.
2. He should be pleasing in his nation, not met with denial or rejection.
3. He should not be suspected of anything, free from reproach, and not attributed with any sin.
4. Ibrāhīm and Ismā'īl asked: {رَبَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ} (Our Lord, and make us Muslims to You), even though they were already Muslims. This implies: "Make us steadfast in this," or "Make us distinguished among the Muslim Prophets." Similarly, Zakarīyā asked for distinction.

Argument for Divine Creation of Actions:

• Our scholars use this verse to argue for the divine creation of human actions because a person becomes raḍīy through his actions. Since Zakarīyā asked Allah to make him pleasing, this indicates that the servant's action is created by Allah.
• Objection: It means Allah should bestow various graces upon him so that he chooses what becomes pleasing, and this choice is attributed to Allah.
• Response:
  1. If making him pleasing means bestowing graces by which he chooses what is pleasing, then this is metaphorical, which contradicts the default understanding.
  2. If those graces are bestowed, it is obligatory upon Allah, and what is obligatory cannot be requested through supplication and humility.

< O Zakarīyā! Indeed, We give you glad tidings of a boy whose name is Yaḥyā. We have not appointed anyone before him to share that name. >