Tafseer of Mary · Maryam · 19:13
And affection from Us and purity, and he was fearing of Allah
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq reported to us, saying: Maʿmar reported to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word (وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا): he said: "mercy from Us."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Djuwaybir reported to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word (وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا): he said: "mercy from Us, the bestowal of which belongs to none but Us."
It was related to me by al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faradj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān reported to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word (وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا): "he says: mercy from Us; none besides Us is able to bestow it."
Others said: rather, the meaning is: mercy from Us toward Zakariyyāʾ; thereby We gave him understanding as a child and did with him what We did.
Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word (وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا): he said: "mercy from Us."
Others said: the meaning is: tenderness and compassion from Us toward him — thus We acted.
Mention of those who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; both on the authority of Ibn Abī Nadjīḥ, on the authority of Mudjāhid, concerning His word (وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا): he said: "compassion of his Lord toward him."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjādj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Djurayj, on the authority of Mudjāhid — to the same effect.
Others said: the meaning of al-ḥanān is love; they directed the meaning of the text toward: and love from Us — thus We acted.
Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima: (وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا) — he said: "love for him."
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb reported to us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word (وَحَنانا): he said: "As for al-ḥanān — it is love."
Others said: it means glorification from Our part for him.
Mention of those who said that:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Tumayila related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Djābir, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ: (وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا) — he said: "glorification from Our part." It is also related from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: "I do not know what al-ḥanān is."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjādj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Djurayj, saying: ʿAmr ibn Dīnār reported to me that he heard ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "By Allah, I do not know what ḥanānā is."
The Arabs have two dialectal forms in ḥanānaka: ḥanānaka yā rabbanā and ḥanānayika — as Ṭarafa ibn al-ʿAbd said using ḥanānayika:
"O Abū Mundhir, you have exhausted us — spare some of us! Ḥanānayika — some evil is less grievous than all evil."
And Imruʾ al-Qays used the other dialectal form:
"The sons of Shamadjy ibn Djarm bestow upon her their goats — ḥanānaka, O Possessor of compassion."
The Arabic philologists differed concerning ḥanānayika. Some said: it is a dual of ḥanān. Others said: it is a dialectal form without a dual; they said: this is like ḥawālayika (around you); and as the poet said:
"A blow, hādhā dhayk, and a thrust, wakhḍan."
Those who said that ḥanānayika is a dual equate it with all of the aforementioned, because all of those are duals. The origin of ḥanān is the speaker's saying: "So-and-so yearned for such-and-such" — when he longed for it and looked forward to it. Then one says: "So-and-so showed compassion toward so-and-so" when one describes him as one who shows gentleness and tenderness and feels mercy for him, as the poet said:
"Show compassion to me — may the Sovereign guide you! For every situation there is a fitting word."
In the meaning: be gentle toward me. Al-ḥanān is the noun derived from the speaker's words: "ḥanna fulān ʿalā fulān" — one says: "ḥananta ʿalayhi, fa-anā aḥinnu ʿalayhi ḥanīnan wa-ḥanānan." Hence one calls a man's wife his "ḥannatihi," because of his tenderness and affection for her, as the radjaz-poet said:
"And many a night full of darkness I traversed, and a ḥanna (woman) and a house brought me no harm."
His word (وَزَكاةً) — Allah the Exalted says: We gave Yaḥyā understanding as a child, and zakāt — that is to say: purity from sins and the employing of his body in obedience to his Lord. The zakāt is connected by coordination to al-ḥukm (understanding) from His word (وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ).
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word (وَزَكاةً): he said: "the zakāt is the righteous deed."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjādj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Djurayj, concerning His word (وَزَكاةً): he said: "the zakāt is the pure and righteous deed."
It was related to me by al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān reported to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word (وَزَكاةً): he means the pure and righteous deed.
His word (وكانَ تَقِيًّا) — Allah the Exalted says: he was God-fearing, fulfilled His obligations, avoided His prohibitions, and hastened to His obedience.
As: Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (وَزَكَاةً وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا) — he said: "he was pure and committed no sin whatsoever."
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb reported to us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word (وَزَكَاةً وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا): he said: "As for the zakāt and the taqwā — the people know their meaning."