Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:45
[And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah].
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: إِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلائِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ ("When the angels said: O Maryam, indeed Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him; his name is the Masīḥ, ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam") (3:45).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means by His word "when the angels said": and you were not present with them when they disputed, nor were you present with them when the angels said: O Maryam, indeed Allah gives you the glad tidings.
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"The glad tidings" (al-tabshīr) is the informing of a person about a report that gladdens him.
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His word "of a Word from Him" (bi-kalimatin minhu) means: with a message from Allah and a report from with Him. It is derived from the saying: "So-and-so brought me a word that gladdened me," in the meaning: he informed me of a report over which I rejoiced. As He — exalted be His praise — said: وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَى مَرْيَمَ ("And His Word, which He conveyed to Maryam") (Surah An-Nisāʾ: 171), He means: Allah's glad tidings to Maryam concerning ʿĪsā, which He conveyed to her.
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The explanation of the words is thus: and you, O Muḥammad, were not present with the people when the angels said to Maryam: O Maryam, indeed Allah gives you glad tidings from with Him, namely a son for you whose name is the Masīḥ, ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam.
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Some have said — and that is the statement of Qatāda — that "the Word" concerning which Allah, mighty and exalted, said "a Word from Him," is His word "Be" (kun).
7061 — That al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "a Word from Him," he said: that is His word "Be."
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Allah, mighty and exalted, called him "His Word," because he came into being through His word, as one says concerning what Allah has decreed: "this is Allah's decree and His ordainment," by which is meant: this came about through Allah's decree and His ordainment. And as He — exalted be His praise — said: وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولا ("And Allah's command is ever carried out") (Surah An-Nisāʾ: 47, Surah Al-Aḥzāb: 37), by which He means: that which Allah has commanded, and that is the commanded thing that came about through Allah's command — mighty and exalted.
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Others have said: no, rather it is a name for ʿĪsā by which Allah named him, just as He named the rest of His creatures with the names He willed.
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And it is related from Ibn ʿAbbās — may Allah be pleased with him — that he said: "the Word" is ʿĪsā.
7062 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: "when the angels said: O Maryam, indeed Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him," he said: ʿĪsā is the Word of Allah.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: and the statement that in my view is closest to correct is the first statement. It holds that the angels brought Maryam the glad tidings of ʿĪsā from with Allah, mighty and exalted, with His message and His word that He commanded her to convey to her: that Allah would create from her a son without a husband and without a male organ. Therefore He, mighty and exalted, said "his name is the Masīḥ," making it masculine and not saying "her name" in the feminine form — while "the Word" (al-kalima) is feminine — because by "the Word" the meaning of a proper name such as "so-and-so" is not intended, but rather it only has the meaning of the glad tidings. Therefore its pronoun was made masculine, just as the pronoun of "the offspring" (al-dhurriyya), "the riding beast" (al-dābba), and titles is made masculine, in the manner that we have set forth earlier.
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The explanation of that is thus as we just said, namely that its meaning is: indeed Allah gives you glad tidings — and then He clarified the glad tidings, that it is a son whose name is the Masīḥ.
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Some grammarians of Basra have claimed that He only made it masculine and said "his name is the Masīḥ," whereas He had said "a Word from Him" — and "the Word," according to them, is ʿĪsā — because in terms of meaning it is thus, as He — exalted be His praise — said: أَنْ تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يَا حَسْرَتَا ("Lest a soul should say: O my regret"), after which He said: بَلَى قَدْ جَاءَتْكَ آيَاتِي فَكَذَّبْتَ بِهَا ("Yes indeed, My signs came to you, but you denied them") (Surah Az-Zumar: 56, 59). And as one says "the one with the little breast-piece" (dhū al-thudayya), because his hand was short and close to his breasts — as though her name was "breast-piece" (thadya), and were it not so, the "hāʾ" would not have been included in the diminutive.
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And some grammarians of Kufa said something similar to the statement of the grammarians of Basra whom we mentioned: namely that the "hāʾ" refers to "the Word." But he differed with them concerning the reason why He made "his name" masculine, while "the Word" precedes it. He claimed that "his name" was only said, while "the Word" preceded it, and "her name" was not said, because it is the custom of the Arabs to do this with that which belongs to the descriptive qualifiers, titles, and names that are not established to identify the named one such as "so-and-so" and "so-and-so." That is, for example, "the offspring" (al-dhurriyya), "the successor" (al-khalīfa), and "the riding beast" (al-dābba). Therefore it was permissible, according to him, to say "a good offspring" (dhurriyya ṭayyiba) and "a good offspring" (dhurriyyatan ṭayyiban, with the masculine form), but it was not permissible to say "Ṭalḥa arose (feminine)" or "Mughīra stood up (feminine)."
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And some of them rejected the reasoning of the one who reasoned in this matter with "the one with the breast-piece," and said: the "hāʾ" was only included in "the one with the breast-piece" because by it the piece of the breast was intended, as one says: "we were at a piece of meat and a draught of drink," by which the piece of it is intended. And this statement accords with our statement that we have made concerning it.
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As for His word "his name is the Masīḥ, ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam": He — exalted be His praise — informed His servants of the lineage of ʿĪsā, and that he is the son of his mother Maryam. Thereby He refuted what the apostates against Allah — exalted be His praise — among the Christians ascribed to Him, namely their ascription of his sonship to Allah, mighty and exalted, and what the slanderers among the Jews laid against his mother. As:
7063 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to me that, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr: "when the angels said: O Maryam, indeed Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him; his name is the Masīḥ, ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam, distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near," that is to say: such was his affair, not what they say about him.
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As for "the Masīḥ," it is a word of the form "faʿīl," transformed from "mafʿūl" to "faʿīl"; it is in reality "mamsūḥ" (the one wiped/touched), that is to say: Allah touched him and thus purified him of sins. Therefore Ibrāhīm said: "the Masīḥ" is the truthful one (al-ṣiddīq)...
7064 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, the like of it.
7065 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, the like of it.
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And others said: he was touched with the blessing.
7066 — Ibn al-Barqī related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Abī Salama related to us, saying: Saʿīd said: he was only called "the Masīḥ" because he was touched with the blessing.
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The explanation of His word: وَجِيهًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ("Distinguished in this world and the Hereafter, and among those brought near") (3:45).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He means by His word "distinguished" (wajīhan): one possessing standing and a high rank with Allah, and possessing honor and nobility. From this comes that one says concerning the man who enjoys standing and who is honored by kings and people: "distinguished" (wajīh). From this one says: "so-and-so was not distinguished, but he attained standing with distinction," and "indeed, he has standing with the ruler, with standing and distinction." And "al-jāh" (standing/rank) is an inverted form: the wāw is inverted from its initial position to the position of the middle letter, so that "jāh" was said, while it is in reality "wajh" (face). The verb of "al-jāh" is: "jāha yajūh." From the Arabs it has been heard: "I fear that he will confront me with more by this (yajūhanī)," in the meaning: that he will meet me to my face with something greater than this.
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As for the accusative of "the distinguished" (al-wajīh), it is on the basis of the "cutting off" (al-qaṭʿ, i.e., the circumstantial qualifier) from "ʿĪsā," because "ʿĪsā" is definite and "distinguished" is indefinite, while it is a qualification of him. Had it been in the genitive on the basis of being referred back to "the Word," that would likewise have been permissible.
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And in accordance with what we have said — namely that the explanation of it is: distinguished in this world and the Hereafter with Allah — Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar spoke, according to what has reached us.
7067 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr: "distinguished," he said: distinguished in this world and the Hereafter with Allah.
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As for His word "and among those brought near" (wa-min al-muqarrabīn), He means that he is among those whom Allah will bring near on the Day of Resurrection, so that He will make him dwell in His proximity and bring him close to Himself. As:
7068 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "and among those brought near," he says: among those brought near to Allah on the Day of Resurrection.
7069 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His word: "and among those brought near," he says: among those brought near to Allah on the Day of Resurrection.
7070 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, the like of it.
