Tafseer of Mary · Maryam · 19:17
And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen. Then We sent to her Our Angel, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man.
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.
His statement: (فَاتَّخَذَتْ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا) — he says: she made, apart from her family, a screen that concealed her from them and from the people. It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās that she went to a place in the East because Allah shaded her with the sun and made for her thereby a partition.
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, concerning his statement (انْتَبَذَتْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا مَكَانًا شَرْقِيًّا): he said: "a place which the sun shaded her so that none of them could see her."
Another, in this connection, mentioned what Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (فَاتَّخَذَتْ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا) — "of the walls."
His statement (فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا) — Allah the Exalted says: We sent to her, when she had withdrawn from her family to an eastern place and had made a partition apart from them: Djibrīl.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement (فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا): he said: "there was sent to her — as it has been mentioned to us — Djibrīl."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of someone whom he did not suspect, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih: he said: "she found with her Djibrīl, whom Allah had caused to appear to her in the form of a well-built human being."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjādj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Djurayj, concerning his statement (فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا): he said: "Djibrīl."
Muḥammad ibn Sahl related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil — a nephew of Wahb — related to us: I heard Wahb ibn Munabbih say: "Allah sent Djibrīl to Maryam, and he appeared to her in the form of a well-built human being."
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: he said: "After Maryam had become pure from her menstruation, she suddenly saw a man with her" — and that is His statement (فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا) — Allah the Exalted says: he appeared to her in the form of a human being of well-made creation — that is to say: in the form of a well-built man from the sons of Adam.
