Tafsir of Maryam 19:24

{From below her}: This is Gabriel, peace be upon him. It is said: He was approaching like a midwife. It is also said: It is Jesus—this is the reading of ‘Asim and Abu ‘Amr. It is also said: {Below her} means lower than her position, like His saying: {Rivers flowing beneath them} (Al-Baqarah: 25). It is also said: He was below her, beneath the hillock, and he called out to her: "Do not grieve." Nafi’, Hamzah, Al-Kisa’i, and Hafs read: {From below her}. The pronoun in {called to her} refers to the angel or Jesus. According to Qatadah, the pronoun in {below her} refers to the palm tree. Zirr and ‘Alqamah read: "He addressed her from below her."

(658) The Prophet (ﷺ) was asked about the sari (stream), and he said: "It is the rivulet." Labid said: They crossed the width of the stream and split it, A full, overflowing [stream] with its reeds growing side by side.

It is also said: It is from al-sarw (nobility). The intended meaning is Jesus. Al-Hasan said: "By Allah, he was a noble (sari) servant."

If you ask: Was her grief due to the lack of food and drink, such that she would be comforted by the stream and the dates?

I say: The comfort did not come from them being merely food and drink, but rather because they were two miracles showing people that she was among the people of chastity and far removed from suspicion. They demonstrated that someone like her was far above what they accused her of, and that she possessed divine matters outside of natural habits—breaking what they were accustomed to—so that it would become clear to them that her giving birth without a male was not an anomaly in her affairs.

{And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, "Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to any human."}