Tafseer of Mary · Maryam · 19:29
So she pointed to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?"
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.
Allah the Exalted says: When her people said this to her, she addressed them with what ʿĪsā had commanded her to say, and afterwards she pointed them to ʿĪsā with the instruction: speak with him.
As Mūsā related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī — he said: When they said to her: مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا she addressed them with what Allah had commanded her; and when they thereafter wished to make her speak, she pointed to him — to ʿĪsā.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning His word فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ : he said: She commanded them to speak with him.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of a trustworthy person, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih — concerning فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ : he said: She pointed to him, meaning: speak with him.
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — concerning His word فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ : speak with him.
His word قَالُوا كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا — Allah the Exalted says: Her people said to her: How can we speak with one who is found in the cradle (al-mahd)? The word "kāna" in مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا here has the meaning of the completed tense without need of a predicate (kāna al-tāmma), comparable to "kāna" in هَلْ كُنْتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَسُولًا (Have I ever been anything but a human messenger?) — the meaning being: am I anything other than a human messenger? Have I ever been found or sent? Likewise Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā said:
"I drove against him a noble Arḥab mare, while the night had already become as black as leather."
With the meaning: while the night had already become black. It has also been said that "al-mahd" here means the womb of his mother.
* Narration of those who said this:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا : al-mahd is the womb.
Abū Jaʿfar (Imam al-Ṭabarī) said: We have already discussed the meaning of "al-mahd" earlier with proofs in a manner that makes it superfluous to repeat here.