Maryam (, ; Arabic cognate of 'Mary') is the 19th chapter () of the Qur'an with 98 verses (). The 114 chapters in the Quran are roughly ordered by size. The Quranic chapter is named after Mary, mother of Jesus (, ), and the Virgin Mary in Christian belief. It recounts the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. The text of the surah refers to many known prophetic figures, including Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Ishmael, Idris, Adam, Zechariah and Noah.
The Birmingham Quran manuscript preserves the final eight verses (Q19:91–98), on parchment radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 CE (56 BH – 25 AH). The Sanaa manuscript, dated between 578 and 669 CE (44 BH – 49 AH), includes verses 2–28.
From the perspective of Islamic tradition, (, ), it is an earlier "Meccan Surah", believed to have been revealed sooner than the later revelations in Medina. Theodor Nöldeke's chronology identifies this Surah as the 58th Surah delivered. Traditional Egyptian chronology places it as the 44th.
Summary
1–6 Zechariah prays for offspring 7–8 Gabriel is sent with an answer promising a son 9–12 Zechariah asks a sign which is given 13–15 John the Baptist's mission and character described 16–22 Story of Mary's miraculous conception 22–23 The birth of Jesus 23–27 Mary in distress is comforted by Jesus 28–29 Mary brings her child to her people, who reproach her 30–34 Jesus (speaking in infancy) vindicates his mother and describes his own prophetic character 35 Jesus the Word of Truth 36 God has no son 37 God alone to be worshipped 38–41 The miserable fate of Jewish and Christian sectaries The story of Abraham: 42–46 He reproaches his father for idolatry 47 His father threatens to stone him 48–50 Abraham prays for his father, but separates himself from him 50–51 God gives him Isaac and Jacob, who were notable prophets 52 Moses—an apostle and prophet 53 Discourses with God privately 54 Aaron given him for an assistant 55–56 Ismaíl was a prophet acceptable to his Lord 57 ۩ 58 Idris was taken up to heaven 59 God is bounteous to all true prophets 59, 60 The followers of former prophets compared with those of Muhammad 61–63 The reward of the faithful in Paradise 64 Gabriel comes down from heaven only when commanded 65 God is the only Lord—no name like his 66–67 The dead shall surely rise 68–72 The dead shall be judged on their knees 73–75 Believers and unbelievers compared 75–76 The prosperity of disbelievers a sign of God's reprobation 77–78 Good works better than riches 79–83 The doom of the wicked certain 84–85 Even the false gods will desert idolaters on judgment day 86–87 God sends devils to incite disbelievers to sin 88–92 Attributing children to God a great sin 93–95 God the only Lord—all creatures His servants 96 Believers to be rewarded with love 97 The Quran made easy for Muhammad 98 Miserable doom of all God's enemies
1 The "mysterious letters" The chapter opens with the Bismillah and the "mysterious letters," or muqattaʿat: Kaf; Ha; Ya; 'Ayn; and Sad. Muslims believe these letters to be the peculiar marks of the Quran, and to conceal several profound mysteries, the certain understanding of which has not been communicated to any mortal except for Muhammad.George Sale Preliminary Discourse 3
The remaining 97 verses may be divided many ways.Qutb, Sayyid. In the Shade of the Qur'an. http://kalamullah.com/shade-of-the-quran.html
16–30 Story of Maryam Q19:16–30 Translator George Sale was a solicitor and early member of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. His verse structure differs slightly from that of the later Arabic King Faud I Edition. He interprets al-kitab as "the book of the Koran" when he translates the Story of Mary in the Quran And remember in the book of the Koran the story of Mary; when she retired from her family to a place towards the east, and took a veil to conceal herself from them; and we sent our spirit Gabriel unto her, and he appeared unto her in the shape of a perfect man. Arabic script in Unicode symbol for a Quran verse, U+06DD, page 3, Proposal for additional Unicode characters. 20 She said, I fly for refuge unto the merciful God, that he may defend me from thee: if thou fearest him, thou wilt not approach me. He answered, Verily I am the messenger of thy LORD, and am sent to give thee a holy son. She said, How shall I have a son, seeing a man hath not touched me, and I am no harlot? Gabriel replied, So shall it be: thy LORD saith, This is easy with me; and we will perform it, that we may ordain him for a sign unto men, and a mercy from us: for it is a thing which is decreed. ۞The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate recitation of the Qur'an. Wherefore she conceived him; and she retired aside with him in her womb to a distant place; and the pains of child-birth came upon her near the trunk of a palm-tree. She said, Would to GOD I had died :before this, and had become a thing forgotten, and lost in oblivion. And he who was beneath her called to her, saying, be not grieved; now hath GOD provided a stream under thee;Sale actually translates سريا or Sry' as rivulet (small stream of water). Christoph Luxenberg believes that the real syriac word is ܫܪܝܐ or Shrya (made legitimate) rendering the true meaning: "Do not be sad your Lord has made your delivery legitimate". and do thou shake the body of the palm-tree, and it shall let fall ripe dates upon thee ready gathered. And eat, and drink, and calm thy mind. Moreover, if thou see any man, and he question thee, say, Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Merciful: wherefore I will by no means speak to a man this day. So she brought the child to her people, carrying him in her arms. And they said unto her, O Mary, now hast thou done a strange thing: O sister of Aaron, thy father was not a bad man, neither was thy mother a harlot. 30 But she made signs unto the child to answer them; and they said, How shall we speak to him, who is an infant in the cradle? Whereupon the child said, Verily I am the servant of GOD.; he hath given me the book of the gospel, and hath appointed me a prophet.Translation: George Sale.
2–40 Jesus
The first section, verses 2–40, begins with the story of Prophet Zachariah and the birth of his son John, the story of Mary and the birth of her son Jesus, and a commentary on Jesus' identity according to Islam which rejects the Christian claim that he is God's son.
28 Sister of Aaron In Q19:28, she is referred to as 'Sister of Aaron'. Several occurrences of the word "أخ" are found in the Quran when referring to kinship or sharing the same ancestor.Quran According to authentic Hadith, a Christian from Najran did inquire about the verse, to which Muhammad replied:
Being the namesake of prophetess Miriam, the verse links Mary to Aaron specifically instead of Moses, who himself is a key figure in the Quran. According to Sahih International, the Arabic wording implies a descendancy of Aaron:
While Mary's genealogy is unknown in the Bible, her relative Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron.KJV Bible KJV Bible Orientalist George Sale writes:
Rhyme structures
In its original Arabic, the text of chapter 19 progresses through a series of varying rhyme structures that correspond to the content being discussed. Throughout the initial narration of the stories of Zachariah and John, Mary and Jesus, and other prophets, verses rhyme based on the syllable 'ya'. When the text moves on to a commentary on the true identity of Jesus, words rhyme due to a long 'ee' or 'oo' preceding a nasal 'm' or 'n', which is considered to give an air of settledness or finality to the subjects being discussed. The first rhyme scheme is then resumed during further accounts of earlier prophets and changes to a rhyme based on a medium 'a' following a voiced 'd' when the Surah discusses punishments for those who reject truth and the prophets. The strength of this vocalization is exchanged for the stronger still double 'd' sound when denouncing unbelievers for their criticism.
2–28 Sanaa 1 The sequence of the Sanaa manuscript (Sanaa 1) chapters do not follow any other known quranic order and folio 22 is shared with Chapter 9 (al-Tawbah) (Q9:122-129).
Recto Location Visible Traces Reconstruction Standard Text Quran 19:2Sahih International Line 24 ر ﺣ[ـﻤ]ﻪ رَحْمَةِ "mercy" رَحْمَتِ "have mercy" Quran 19:3 Line 25 ا د ٮا د ی ر ٮک ر ﻛ[ـر] ٮا إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّـ "When your Lord called Zechariah" إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّـ "When his Lord called" Quran 19:4 Line 25 و ٯل ر ٮی قٰلَ رَبِّـ "And my Lord said" قالَ رَبِّ "God said" Quran 19:4 Line 26 و ٯل ر ٮی ا سٮعل ا لر ا س سٮٮا And my Lord said: “Let the head be young.” وَقٰلَ رَبِّي ٱشْتَعَلَ ٱلرَّأْسُ شَيْباً قَالَ رَبِّ وَٱشْتَعَلَ ٱلرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا The Lord said that while they were greater than me, the head was young Quran 19:4 Line 26 و لم ا کں ر ٮ ٮـ(ـد) عا ک وَلَمْ أَکُنْ "And I was not a lord by your supplication" وَلَمْ أَكُن "And I was not called by your Lord" Quran 19:5 Line 27 و ﺣ(ڡـ)ـٮ ا لمو ل مں و [ر] ا ی "I feared my mind" وَ خِفْتُ ٱلْمَوَٰل مِن وَرٰاءِى وَ خِفْتُ ٱلْمَوَٰلِىَ مِن وَرٰاءِى "And I have eased my mind from behind me"
Verso
34 Significance of Mary
Chapter 19 is the only surah in the Qur'an that is named after a woman, initially known as KA-HA. Mary, the figure from whom this Surah takes its name. Jesus is referred to by his familial connection to her in Q19:34, the identifying title 'son of Mary' places startling emphasis on Mary's motherhood in a culture in which individuals were identified by their descent from male family member. This emphasis draws attention to the unique circumstances of Jesus's birth; it was a miraculous moment that confirmed biological power of Mary only, because no male (human being) was needed. However, the narrative rejects the Christian belief that he Jesus is living and breathing God. The text describes the agony of Mary's childbirth in great detail, including her wish that she had died long ago in order to avoid such pain. Despite this great hardship, God is portrayed as compassionate and attentive to Mary's needs; He urges her not to worry and provides her with food. Feminist reading of the text points to this treatment of childbirth as verification of the process's special significance.
Other scholars point to the interaction between Mary and the angel Gabriel as indicative of traditional gender roles at the time; when Mary, a solitary female, encounters the male angel, her first reaction is fear of the impropriety of the situation and uncertainty regarding the angel's intentions. She can hear the angel's message and question him only after he assures her that he has come as a messenger from God.
Maryam in Syriac (ܡܪܝܡ) is a common adjective connoting blessing and perhaps the verb "[God] exalts her".
35–37 Dome of the Rock The verses from Maryam 19:35–37, which are seen by Muslims as strongly reaffirming Jesus' prophethood to God, are quoted in inscriptions in the oldest extant Islamic monument, The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
41–65 Abraham The second section, verses 41–65, tells of Abraham's departure from his family's idolatrous ways and then refers to many other prophets. The text discusses the various responses of those who heard their prophecy and the fates those hearers met; throughout these descriptions, the oneness of God is emphasized.
66–98 Islamic view of the Trinity
The third section, verses 66–98, confirms the reality of resurrection and offers depictions of the Day of Judgment alongside depictions of this life.
91–98 Birmingham manuscript
The Birmingham Quran manuscript preserves the final eight verses (Q19:91–98) of Chapter 19, Maryam (plus parts of Chapter 18, Al-Kahf; and Chapter 20, "Taha"). Located in the Cadbury Research Library, It is written in the Arabic language in Hijazi script by unknown scribe(s).