Tafsir of Al Imran 3:33-37

"Indeed, Allah chose..."

"Over the worlds. Descendants, some of them from others. And Allah is Hearing, Knowing. When the wife of ‘Imran said: 'My Lord, I have vowed to You what is in my womb, consecrated, so accept from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.' But when she delivered her, she said: 'My Lord, I have delivered a female'—and Allah is most knowing of what she delivered, and the male is not like the female—'and I have named her Maryam, and I seek refuge for her in You and her descendants from Satan, the expelled.' So her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zakariya. Every time Zakariya entered upon her in the sanctuary, he found with her provision. He said: 'O Maryam, from where is this to you?' She said: 'It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.'"

"Descendants" It is an appositive (badal) for the "Family of Ibrahim" and the "Family of ‘Imran."

"Some of them from others" Meaning that these two families are one continuous lineage, branching from one another. Musa and Harun are from ‘Imran, ‘Imran from Yashar, Yashar from Qahath, Qahath from Lawi, Lawi from Ya‘qub, and Ya‘qub from Ishaq. Likewise, ‘Isa is the son of Maryam, daughter of ‘Imran, son of Mathan, son of Sulayman, son of Dawud, son of Isha, son of Yahudha, son of Ya‘qub, son of Ishaq. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is included in the "Family of Ibrahim." It is also said that "some of them from others" refers to their unity in religion, similar to the verse: "The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another" (At-Tawbah: 67).

"And Allah is Hearing, Knowing" He knows who is fit for selection, or He knows that they are of one another in religion, or He is "Hearing, Knowing" of the wife of ‘Imran’s speech and her intention.

"When" It is in the accusative case, governed by an implied "Remember." The wife of ‘Imran is the wife of ‘Imran ibn Mathan, the mother of Maryam the Virgin, and the grandmother of ‘Isa (peace be upon him). She is Hannah bint Faqudh.

"When the wife of ‘Imran said" This follows the mention of "the Family of ‘Imran," which suggests that ‘Imran here is ‘Imran ibn Mathan, the grandfather of ‘Isa. The other view is supported by the fact that Musa is frequently paired with Ibrahim in mention. If you ask: "‘Imran ibn Yashar had a daughter named Maryam who was older than Musa and Harun, and ‘Imran ibn Mathan had Maryam the Virgin; how do you know this ‘Imran is the father of the Virgin and not the father of the Maryam who was the sister of Musa and Harun?" I say: The guardianship of Zakariya is sufficient evidence that he is the father of the Virgin, because Zakariya ibn Adhin and ‘Imran ibn Mathan were contemporaries, and Zakariya married his daughter, Ishya’, the sister of Maryam. Thus, Yahya and ‘Isa were cousins.

It is narrated that she was barren and did not give birth until she reached old age. While she was in the shade of a tree, she saw a bird feeding its chick, which stirred her desire for a child. She vowed that if Allah granted her a child, she would dedicate it to the service of the Bayt al-Maqdis. She became pregnant with Maryam, and ‘Imran died while she was pregnant.

"Consecrated (muharraran)" Meaning freed for the service of the Bayt al-Maqdis, with no claim over the child, nor using the child for personal work. This type of vow was lawful among them. It is said that if the child reached maturity, they were given the choice to continue or not. Al-Sha‘bi says muharraran means "sincere/devoted to worship."

"But when she delivered her" The pronoun refers to "what is in my womb." It is feminine because, in Allah’s knowledge, it was a female, or based on the interpretation of the fetus (al-habala) or the soul (al-nasama).

"And the male is not like the female" This explains the greatness of the one delivered, as implied in "Allah is most knowing of what she delivered." It means: The male she hoped for is not like the female she was granted.

"And I have named her Maryam" This is a conjunction to "I have delivered a female," with the intervening sentences being parenthetical. She mentioned the name to her Lord because "Maryam" in their language means "the worshiper." She sought for Allah to protect her so that her actions would match her name.

"And I seek refuge for her... from Satan" Regarding the Hadith: "There is no newborn who is not touched by Satan at birth, causing it to cry, except Maryam and her son." If this is authentic, it means Satan covets the misguidance of every newborn except them, as they were protected. The crying is a representation of Satan’s greed. As for the literal "touching" or "poking" as imagined by the anthropomorphists, it is not so.

"So her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance" He was pleased with her as a substitute for the male in the vow. This "acceptance" refers to His choosing her to take the place of a male, or that He accepted her from her mother immediately after birth before she was old enough for service.

"And caused her to grow in a good manner" A metaphor for excellent upbringing.

"And put her in the care of Zakariya" He took her into his charge and became responsible for her interests. It is said he built a sanctuary for her in the mosque—a room accessible by a ladder. It is said that he alone entered upon her, and when he left, he would lock seven doors behind him.

"He found with her provision" Her provision would descend from Paradise. She never suckled a breast; he would find winter fruits with her in summer and summer fruits in winter.

"From where is this to you?" From where is this provision that does not resemble the provisions of the world, arriving out of season while the doors are locked?

"She said: 'It is from Allah'" Do not consider it unlikely. It is said she spoke while she was small, just as ‘Isa spoke in the cradle.

"Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account" This is either part of Maryam’s speech or the speech of the Lord of Might. "Without account" means without estimation due to its abundance, or as a grace without reckoning or rewarding based on merit.