Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   Allah, exalted be His praise, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: And remember her who guarded her chastity — that is, Maryam bint ʿImrān.

   By His words (أَحْصَنَتْ) He means: she guarded her private part (farj) and protected it against what Allah had forbidden her to admit into it.

   There was disagreement concerning the private part which Allah, exalted be His praise, means that she guarded. Some said: by it He means her own private part, which she protected against fornication (fāḥisha).

   Others said: by it He means the opening at the neck of her outer garment (jayb), which she shielded from Jibrīl before she knew that he was the messenger of her Lord and before she had recognized him. They said: what indicates this is His words (فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا), preceded by (وَالَّتِي أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا). They said: it was thereby made clear that the meaning of the sentence is: she who guarded the opening of her garment, and then (فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ رُوحِنَا) — We breathed into her of Our spirit.

   Abū Jaʿfar said: In my view, the opinion that is most correct as to the interpretation is that of the one who said that she guarded her private part against fornication, for that is its most common meaning and the most obvious in the literal sense of the sentence. (فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ رُوحِنَا) means: We breathed into the opening at the neck of her garment of Our spirit. The disagreement among the exegetes concerning the meaning of (فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا) has been mentioned elsewhere, as has the most correct interpretation that serves as the standard, so that repeating it here is unnecessary.

   His words (وَجَعَلْنَاهَا وَابْنَهَا آيَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ) mean: We made Maryam and her son a sign for the contemporaries of their age, so that, after consideration and reflection upon their case, they might acknowledge the greatness of Our dominion and Our power over whatever We will. It says (آيَةً — one sign) and not (آيَتَيْنِ — two signs), although two are mentioned, because the meaning of the sentence is: We made them both a token for Us and a proof. Each of the two takes, in the capacity of being a proof of Allah and of the greatness of His power, the place of the other, since their case in being a proof of Allah is one.

   Show original Arabic

   يقول تعالى ذكره لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: واذكر التي أحصنت فرجها ، يعني مريم بنت عمران. ويعني بقوله ( أَحْصَنَتْ ) : حفظت فرجها ومنعت فرجها مما حرم الله عليها إباحته فيه. واختلف في الفرج الذي عنى الله جلّ ثناؤه أنها أحصنته ، فقال بعضهم: عنى بذلك فرج نفسها أنها حفظته من الفاحشة. وقال آخرون: عنى بذلك جيب درعها أنها منعت جبرائيل منه قبل أن تعلم أنه رسول ربها ، وقبل أن تثبته معرفة، قالوا: والذي يدلّ على ذلك قوله ( فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا ) ويعقب ذلك قوله ( وَالَّتِي أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا ) قالوا: وكان معلوما بذلك أن معنى الكلام: والتي أحصنت جيبها( فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ رُوحِنَا ) . قال أبو جعفر: والذي هو أولى القولين عندنا بتأويل ذلك قول من قال: أحصنت فرجها من الفاحشة ، لأن ذلك هو الأغلب من معنييه عليه ، والأظهر في ظاهر الكلام ، ( فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ رُوحِنَا ) يقول: فنفخنا في جيب درعها من روحنا ، وقد ذكرنا اختلاف المختلفين في معنى قوله ( فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا ) في غير هذا الموضع ، والأولى بالصواب من القول في ذلك فيما مضى بما أغنى عن إعادته في هذا الموضع. وقوله ( وَجَعَلْنَاهَا وَابْنَهَا آيَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) يقول: وجعلنا مريم وابنها عبرة لعالمي زمانهما يعتبرون بهما ويتفكرون في أمرهما ، فيعلمون عظيم سلطاننا وقدرتنا على ما نشاء: وقيل آية ولم يقل آيتين وقد ذكر آيتين ، لأن معنى الكلام: جعلناهما عَلَما لنا وحجة ، فكل واحدة منهما في معنى الدلالة على الله ، وعلى عظيم قدرته يقوم مقام الآخر إذا كان أمرهما في الدلالة على الله واحدا.