Tafseer of Mary · Maryam · 19:30
[Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.
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 the people of Maryam said to her: how can we speak to one who was a child in the cradle? — and they supposed that this was a mockery of them on her part — ʿĪsā spoke on behalf of his mother and said: (I am the servant of Allah; He has given me the Book). And they had, when she pointed to ʿĪsā — as has been related concerning them — become angry.
As Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: when she pointed to ʿĪsā, they became angry and said: her mockery of us, in that she commands us to speak with this child, is graver to us than her fornication (zinā) — they said: how can we speak to one who was a child in the cradle?
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of someone who is not suspected, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, concerning they said: how can we speak to one who was a child in the cradle? : ʿĪsā answered them on her behalf and said to them: (I am the servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and has made me a prophet) — to the end of the verse.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: they said: how can we speak to one who was a child in the cradle? : he said to them: (I am the servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and has made me a prophet) — and he continued reciting until he reached and He has not made me an oppressor, wretched ; and they said: this is truly a great matter.
We were told concerning al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abā Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, who said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning how can we speak to one who was a child in the cradle? — he said: I am the servant of Allah : ʿĪsā did not speak except at that moment, when they said: how can we speak to one who was a child in the cradle?
And concerning His word (He has given me the Book): the questioner says — had He then given him the Book and the revelation before he was created in the womb of his mother? The answer is that the meaning of this is other than what one might suppose; rather the meaning is: and on the day He decreed the ordinances of His creation, He decreed that He would give me the Book.
As Bishr ibn Ādam related to me, he said: al-Ḍaḥḥāk — that is, Ibn Makhlad — related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning (He has given me the Book): he said: He determined in the earlier decree that He would give me the Book.
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: Sufyān informed us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word (I am the servant of Allah; He has given me the Book): he said: the divine decree.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word (I am the servant of Allah; He has given me the Book): he said: He decreed that He would give me the Book.
And His word (and He has made me a prophet): I have already set forth elsewhere the meaning of the word prophet (nabī) and the disagreements of the scholars therein, and the correct view according to us with its proofs, in a manner that makes repetition unnecessary.
Mujāhid used to say concerning the meaning of the word prophet alone only what Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — all of them together on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: the prophet alone is the one who is spoken to and to whom the revelation descends, but who is not sent as a messenger.
