Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:43
O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow [in prayer]."
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.
The explanation of His word: يَا مَرْيَمُ اقْنُتِي لِرَبِّكِ وَاسْجُدِي وَارْكَعِي مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ (3:43) ("O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate yourself and bow down together with those who bow.") (43)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His praise, means by His word — as a report of what His angels said to Maryam: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord" — devote obedience purely to your Lord alone.
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We have already previously demonstrated, with its testimonies, the meaning of "devout obedience (al-qunūt)." The disagreements among the scholars of exegesis about it in this place resemble their disagreements about it there. Here too we shall mention the statement of some of them.
Some of them said: the meaning of "be devoutly obedient (iqnutī)" is: prolong the standing (in prayer).
Mention of who said that:
7038 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: prolong the standing, that is, the devout obedience (al-qunūt).
7039 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
7040 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: "be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: Mujāhid said: prolong the standing in the prayer (ṣalāh) — that is, the devout obedience (al-qunūt).
7041 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: When it was said to her: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," she remained standing until her ankles swelled.
7042 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: When it was said to her: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," she remained standing until her feet swelled.
7043 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, he said: Al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of Mujāhid: "be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: prolong the standing.
7044 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: devout obedience (al-qunūt) is the standing. He says: stand up for your Lord in the prayer. He says: stand still for your Lord, that is: draw yourself upright before Him in the prayer — "and prostrate yourself and bow down together with those who bow."
7045 — Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: she used to pray until her feet swelled.
7046 — Ibn al-Barqī related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Al-Awzāʿī related to us: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: she used to stand until pus flowed from her feet.
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Others said: its meaning is: devote yourself purely to your Lord.
Mention of who said that:
7047 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Al-Ḥimmānī related to us, he said: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Sālim, on the authority of Saʿīd: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: devote yourself purely to your Lord.
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Others said: its meaning is: obey your Lord.
Mention of who said that:
7048 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said: obey your Lord.
7049 — Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "be devoutly obedient to your Lord," obey your Lord.
7050 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Ḥarb related to us, he said: Ibn Lahīʿa related to us, on the authority of Darrāj, on the authority of Abū al-Haytham, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, he said: Every word in which devout obedience (al-qunūt) is mentioned in the Qurʾān means obedience to Allah.
7051 — Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, he said: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, on the authority of ʿAbbād ibn Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: "O Maryam, be devoutly obedient to your Lord," he said that it means: worship your Lord.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: We have likewise clarified the meaning of "the bowing (al-rukūʿ)" and "the prostration (al-sujūd)" by means of the proofs that indicate its correctness, and that they have the meaning of humility before Allah and submission to Him through obedience and servitude (al-ʿubūda).
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The explanation of the verse is thus: O Maryam, devote the worship of your Lord purely to His countenance, and be humble in His obedience and worship together with those of His creatures who are humble before Him, in gratitude to Him for the honor He has bestowed upon you: the election, the purification from impurities, and the elevation above the women of the world of your age.
