Her mother's vow and her name (Quran 3:33-36)

The Quran says that Allah chose Adam, Nuh (Noah), the family of Ibrahim (Abraham) and the family of 'Imran over the worlds (3:33-34). Maryam belonged to this last family.

The wife of 'Imran said: "My Lord, I have vowed to You what is in my womb, devoted to Your service, so accept it from me." When she gave birth to a girl, she said she had delivered a female, though Allah knew best what she had delivered. She named her Maryam and asked Allah to protect her and her descendants from Satan, the rejected.

The Quran does not give the name of Maryam's mother, only that she was the wife of 'Imran.

Growing up in the care of Zakariyya (3:37, 3:44)

Allah accepted Maryam with a good acceptance and made her grow in a good way. He placed her in the care of Zakariyya (Zechariah).

Whenever Zakariyya entered the prayer chamber (mihrab) where she was, he found provision with her. He asked: "O Maryam, from where does this come to you?" She said: "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whomever He wills without account."

Verse 44 adds that those around her cast their pens to decide who would care for her. The Quran says no more about how this happened.

The angels' news (3:42-47, 19:16-21)

The angels told Maryam that Allah had chosen her, purified her and preferred her over the women of the worlds, and that she should be devoutly obedient to her Lord, prostrate and bow with those who bow.

In Surah Maryam, she withdrew from her family to a place to the east and set up a screen. Allah sent to her "Our Spirit" (ruhana), who appeared to her as a well-formed man. Commentators identify him as the angel Jibril (Gabriel).

She said: "I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, if you fear Allah." He answered that he was only a messenger from her Lord, to give her a pure boy. She asked how she could have a son when no man had touched her and she had not been unchaste. He replied that her Lord says it is easy for Him, and that the boy will be a sign for people and a mercy from Allah, a matter already decreed.

The angels also gave her news of a word from Allah, whose name is the Messiah, Isa (Jesus) the son of Maryam, honoured in this world and the next. He would speak to people in the cradle and as a grown man. To her question, the answer was that Allah creates what He wills; when He decrees a matter, He only says "Be", and it is.

The birth under the palm tree (19:22-26)

Maryam conceived and withdrew with him to a remote place. The pains of childbirth brought her to the trunk of a palm tree, and she said that she wished she had died before this and been forgotten, completely forgotten.

Then a voice called to her from beneath her: do not grieve, your Lord has placed a stream beneath you; shake the trunk of the palm tree and it will drop fresh ripe dates on you; so eat, drink and be at ease. Commentators differ on who called her, the angel or the child, and the Quran does not specify.

She was also told what to say if she saw anyone: that she had vowed a fast to the Most Merciful, so she would not speak to any person that day. The Quran does not name the place of the birth, only that it was remote.

Returning to her people and the baby who spoke (19:27-34)

She came to her people carrying the child. They said that she had done something very serious and reminded her that her father was not a bad man and her mother was not unchaste.

Maryam did not answer them with words. She pointed to the baby. They asked how they could speak to one who was a child in the cradle.

The child said: "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I am, and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I live, and made me dutiful to my mother. Peace is upon me the day I was born, the day I die and the day I am raised alive." Verse 34 says that this is Isa, son of Maryam, the word of truth about which they dispute.

Her place in the Quran and the Sunnah

Allah describes Maryam as one who guarded her chastity, and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was among the devoutly obedient (66:12). He made her and her son a sign for the worlds (21:91) and gave them shelter on a high ground with level land and flowing water (23:50).

The Prophet ﷺ said that many men have reached perfection, but among women only Asiyah, the wife of Pharaoh, and Maryam, the daughter of 'Imran (Sahih al-Bukhari 3411). 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he also said: "The best of her women is Maryam daughter of 'Imran, and the best of her women is Khadijah" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3432, Sahih Muslim 2430). Scholars have differed on whether "her women" means the women of her time or of the world.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said that every child is touched by Satan when he is born and cries out because of that touch, except Maryam and her son. Then Abu Hurayrah recited the prayer of her mother in 3:36 (Sahih al-Bukhari 3431).

Lessons from this story

  • A sincere dedication made in secret can be accepted by Allah in the best way, as with Maryam's mother.
  • Allah provides for His servants from where they do not expect, and the one who worships Him in devotion finds His care.
  • When a person is tested beyond what others can understand, Allah gives patience and a way out, as with the stream and the dates.
  • Maryam's silence and her trust in Allah answered the accusation better than any argument.
  • Isa's first words were the declaration of servanthood to Allah, which is the heart of the message of all the prophets.
  • Purity, devotion and faith raise a person's standing with Allah, as the Quran and the Sunnah show for Maryam.

General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.

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