A beautiful example is in the life of Maryam, the daughter of lmran, who guarded her chastity, and into whose womb We breathed of Our spirit, who testified to the words of her Rabbi, and His scriptures, and was one of the obedient." (Q66:12) Last month, we started the story of Maryam, the mother of Prophet Eesa (peace be upon him). How her mother wished for a son but had a daughter instead and how she was put in the care of Prophet Zakariyya (peace be upon him) because of the promise of her mother to dedicate her child to the service of Allaah.
We also followed the story of Maryam from her youth (in the care of Prophet Zakariyya) to when she was visited by an angel in the form of a man. The angel informed her that she will give birth to a son. Let now continue the story.
A son! She wondered how it is possible for her to have a son when she is not married to any man. She said:
"How shall I bear a son, no man has ever touched me nor am I unchaste?" The angel replied: "So shall it be- Your Rabb says: It is easy for Me, we wish to make him a Sign for mankind and a blessing from Us - and this matter has already been decreed"(Q19:20-21).
This is one of demonstration of the power of Allaah, that He can do whatever He wishes even if we think it to be impossible. He also informs us of the reason for this miraculous birth; it is to be a sign for us and that He has decreed this even before the time of Maryam. So she conceived the child and left the sanctuary to a remote place until her term was due. When her labour pains started, there was none to help her so she went and sat under the trunk of a palm-tree. She cried in her anguish: "Ah! would that I had died before this, and been long forgotten!" (Q19:23)
An angel from beneath the palm-tree consoled her, saying: "Do not grieve! Your Rabb has provided a stream at your feet. If you shake the trunk of this palm-tree, it will drop fresh ripe dates in your lap. So eat, drink and refresh yourself. If you see anyone, tell him: I have vowed a fast to Allaah, so I will not speak to anyone today. After she had the baby, she prepared herself and went back to her people carrying the baby. They were surprised and said to her: "O Maryam! You have brought something hard to believe! O sister of Haroon! Your father was not a bad man nor your mother an unchaste woman". They knew she wasn't married to anyone and could not imagine where the baby came from But Maryam just pointed towards the baby.
This made them even more angry and they said: "How can we talk to a babe in the cradle?" Then a miracle happened, the baby spoke out and listed a lot of favours that Allaah has bestowed on him. He said: "I am indeed a servant of Allaah. He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. His blessing is with me wherever I go. He has commanded me to establish Salah and give Zakah as long as I shall live. He has exhorted me to honour my mother and has not made me domineering, hard to deal with. Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I shall die and the Day I shall be raised to life again". They were certainly in shock! But that was Eesa, the son of Maryam, and this is the true statement about him.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited