Tafsir of Surah Al-Anbiya' - Verse 91

`Isa and Maryam the True Believer

Here Allah mentions the story of Maryam and her son `Isa, just after mentioning Zakariyya and his son Yahya, may peace be upon them all. He mentions the story of Zakariyya first, followed by the story of Maryam because the one is connected to the other. The former is the story of a child being born to an old man of advanced years, from an old woman who had been barren and had never given birth when she was younger. Then Allah mentions the story of Maryam which is even more wondrous, for in this case a child was born from a female without (the involvement of) a male. These stories also appear in Surah Al `Imran and in Surah Maryam. Here Allah mentions the story of Zakariyya and follows it with the story of Maryam, where He says:

وَالَّتِى أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا

(And she who guarded her chastity,) means, Maryam (peace be upon her). This is like the Ayah in Surah At-Tahrim:

وَمَرْيَمَ ابْنَةَ عِمْرَانَ الَّتِى أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا

(And Maryam, the daughter of `Imran who guarded her chastity. And We breathed into it her garment through Our Ruh) 66:12.

وَجَعَلْنَـهَا وَابْنَهَآ ءَايَةً لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ

(and We made her and her son a sign for the nations. ) means, evidence that Allah is able to do all things and that He creates whatever He wills; verily, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be" -- and it is! This is like the Ayah:

وَلِنَجْعَلَهُ ءَايَةً لِّلْنَّاسِ

(And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind) 19:21

Commentary

This verse directs the Holy Prophet ﷺ to tell his people the story of the pious lady who controlled her passions and then through Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) Allah had breathed His Spirit into her and she gave birth to a son (Sayyidna ` Isa علیہ السلام) who was a symbol of Allah's Divine Power that He can cause babies to be born without a father, and also without both the parents as in the case of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام)

The special quality of Mary (Maryam) is said to be that she guarded her chastity. By way of a reward for this, she was made the mother of a prophet who was born by a direct miracle of God. This is true of common men and women also. Everybody is being tried in this world by being required to keep his urges and desires under control. The more an individual shows self-discipline on this score, the more he will share in God’s special blessings.