The Sincerity of a Mother

Assalāmu Alaykum

بسم الله الرحمـٰن الرحيم 

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُ عِمْرَٰنَ رَبِّ إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِى بَطْنِى مُحَرَّرًا فَتَقَبَّلْ مِنِّىٓۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ 

فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَضَعْتُهَآ أُنثَىٰ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ ٱلذَّكَرُ كَٱلْأُنثَىٰۖ وَإِنِّى سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وَإِنِّىٓ أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ 

فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّاۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا ٱلْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقًاۖ قَالَ يَٰمَرْيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَٰذَاۖ قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِۖإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ 

[Mention, O Muhammad], when the wife of 'Imran said, "My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing."

But when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah ]."

So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?" She said, "It is from Allah . Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account."

(Quran, 3:35-37)

Quick tafsīr. 

ibn Katheer رحمه الله stated that the famous historian, Muhammad ibn Ishāq رحمه الله mentioned that Hannah bint Faqudh—the mother of Maryam عليها السلام—could not have children and one day, she saw a bird feeding its chick. This inspired her to make a du’a to Allah to grant her offspring. Allah SWT, Al-Samī’ and Al-Mujīb, accepted her du’a. She got pregnant, and she made an oath to Allah SWT that she would dedicate her child (son, she thought) to worship Allah in Bayt ul-Maqdis (Jerusalem).

After she’d given birth, she called unto Allah again, naming her child Maryam: Maidservant of Allah, and seeking Allah’s protection for Maryam and her offspring from Shaytan. 

Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه said: Every newly born baby is touched by Shaytan when it is born, and the baby starts crying because of this touch, except Maryam and her son. (متفق عليه)

SubhanAllah, where to begin? 

This story began with a woman with a heart soft enough to pay attention and get moved by a bird feeding its chick, and strong faith in the Power of Allah SWT— the rest is history. She made a du’a to Allah, He accepted it, and out of gratitude she did something to please Allah SWT, with utmost sincerity. When she gave birth to her daughter, she could’ve thought “well, it’s a girl, when I get a boy then I will fulfill my oath”. No. She kept her promise, even named her daughter perfectly to show her dedication, and she made a du’a to Allah to protect her and her offspring from Shaytan. That was the du’a: protection. But Allah is Ar-Ra’ūf and Al-Latīf; He gave her more than that. He says HE RAISED MARYAM WELL. What honor is it for Allah SWT, فاطر السماوات والأرض to say that He caused your child to grow well? 

Maryam was so good that Allah made her a role model of chastity and purity to the whole world. Allah SWT willed that the rabbis of Bayt ul-Baqdis would cast lots just to see who’d get the honor of raising her. A Prophet of Allah SWT, Zakariyya عليه السلام was so inspired by Maryam’s righteousness that it made him pray for righteous offspring. 

Until then Zechariah had no issue. The sight of this pious young girl made him yearn for a child just as virtuous and devout. When he saw that God sent food to her, by dint of His limitless power, he felt hopeful that God might also bless him with issue, despite his old age. 

- Tafhīmul Qur’ān

This is the power of a sincere du’a, and gratitude. 

Every single story, word, letter in the Qur’ān has a hikmah behind it; the du’a of the mother of Maryam and her oath was saved for us to read for a reason— to learn from it. 

I have heard two scholars share their reflections about this and both of them filled my heart with so much awe; that is the beauty of the Qur’ān: it will never cease to amaze you. The salvageable gems from the story of the mother of Maryam are endless, but here’s me trying. 

Salvageable Gems: 

The promises of Allah are true: Allah says He is close, and He answers our calls when we call Him (Qur’ān, 2:186); Hannah called upon Him twice, and He answered, both times. Allah says if we are grateful to Him, He will increase us in bounty (Qur’ān, 14:7); Hannah was grateful for her du’a being answered, He preserved Mary for her. 

Sincerity always wins: Allah sees how dedicated our hearts are to worshipping Him; He knows those who genuinely seek His pleasure, and those who pretend to. He was aware of how true the oath of Hannah was, and she proved it by giving her baby girl regardless. Those “hindrances” that we think prevent us from worshiping Allah as best we can, He knows if we’re just making excuses. 

How generous is Allah SWT?! SubhanAllah. You make an effort for His sake, He showers His blessings on you. How kind is Allah SWT? He saved this story for us to strengthen our faith in Him in our times of despair; to remind us of His favor and His mercy on His creation when they call upon Him. 

The hearts that have faith reflect: One day the Sahaba were sitting with the Prophet SAW, he saw two goats fighting, and he told the Sahaba that Allah will judge between those two goats on the Day of Qiyāmah. Two goats fighting and he thought of Qiyāmah, SAW. The believer sees the sky, and its beauty prompts him to send praises to Allah SWT; he feels a discomfort and he remembers the Day of Reckoning. The hearts that have faith link everything to Allah SWT. Hannah saw the bird and the chick, she knew that it was from Allah, and she made a du’a. How often do we see animals and call them “cute” but forget to marvel at Allah’s Grandeur? How many signs of His Mercy are we too distracted to notice? 

Allah knows and we do not know (Qur’ān 16:74): She expected a son, and she got a blessed daughter. Allah answers our prayers in ways that we might not understand, ways which He knows will be the best for us. Have faith and think good thoughts. 

Allah SWT has blessed us with a beautiful source of light and guidance; He SWT made it eloquent, He put in it stories filled with lessons, He made it easy to remember, and He gave us the hearts to understand it— one of the uncountable reasons to say Alhamdulillah. 

اللهم جعلنا من أهل القرآن 

Victory comes from Allah SWT and He knows best. 

مع السلام