Tafseer of Mary · Maryam · 19:22
So she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a remote place.
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.
In this text there is an omitted portion, the mention of which has been left out because the context indicates it sufficiently: فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِنَا بِغُلَامٍ فَحَمَلَتْهُ فَانْتَبَذَتْ بِهِ مَكَانًا قَصِيًّا (And We breathed into it of Our spirit — a boy — so she carried him, and she withdrew with him to a remote place). This is also the view of the exegetes.
* Narration of those who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Sahl related to me, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil, the nephew of Wahb ibn Munabbih, related to me — he said: I heard Wahb say: When Allah sent Jibrīl to Maryam, he appeared to her in the form of a complete man. She said: إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِالرَّحْمَنِ مِنْكَ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَقِيًّا (Indeed, I seek refuge with the Most Merciful from you, if you are God-fearing). Then he breathed into the neck-opening of her shift, until the breath reached the womb and it enclosed him.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of a trustworthy person, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih al-Yamānī — he said: When Jibrīl said that — that is, when he said: قَالَ كَذَلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ — she submitted to the command of Allah; he breathed into the neck-opening of her shift and then departed from her.
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī — he said: She cast her outer garment over herself when Jibrīl said that to her; Jibrīl seized her by the sleeves, breathed into the neck-opening of her shift — which lay open at the front — and the breath entered her breast, and she became pregnant. Then her sister, the wife of Zakariyyā, visited her by night; when she opened the door for her, she embraced her. The wife of Zakariyyā said: "O Maryam, did you know that I am pregnant?" Maryam said: "Did you also know that I am pregnant?" The wife of Zakariyyā said: "I feel that what is in my belly prostrates to what is in your belly." This is the word of Allah مُصَدِّقًا بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ (confirming a Word from Allah).
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me — he said: Ibn Jurayj said: It is said that he breathed into the neck-opening of her shift and her sleeve.
His word فَانْتَبَذَتْ بِهِ مَكَانًا قَصِيًّا means: she withdrew with the one she was carrying — that is, ʿĪsā — and removed herself with him from the people to a remote place, that is: a far and remote place from the people. One says: "huwa bi-makānin qāṣin wa-qaṣiyyin" — both forms are synonymous. One says: "qaṣā al-makānu yaqṣū qaṣwan" when a place is far away; and "aqṣaytu al-shayʾ" when you remove something and push it back.
In accordance with what we have said, the exegetes spoke.
* Narration of those who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, 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 word فَانْتَبَذَتْ بِهِ مَكَانًا قَصِيًّا : he said: A far place.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning His word مَكَانًا قَصِيًّا : he said: Remote.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — the same.
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī — he said: When the time drew near for Maryam to give birth, she went to the eastern side of the sanctuary and betook herself to its furthest part.