Sūrat Maryam (Q. 19): Comforting Muḥammad

Abdel-Haleem, Muhammad

Abstract

Mary is a very important figure in the Qur'an, in which she is mentioned by name 34 times. In addition to passing references, such as in Q. 23:50 and Q. 66:12, two important Qur'anic pericopes are devoted to her: Q. 3:33–50 and Q. 19:16–36. Over and above this, Sura 19 is named after her. Much has been written about this sura, with recent scholarship giving particular attention to its structure. Identifying the structure within the sura is of course important, especially in view of the way the material is presented in the muṣḥaf, which sets out the entire sura in continuous text, without any divisions or paragraphs apart from the markers at the end of each verse. Structural analysis can be useful in terms of identifying main subject topics of a given sura, but there is a danger that overreliance on structural analysis can focus too heavily on form, thereby overlooking the message and purpose that runs throughout each sura. Form and literary analysis are important but only insofar as they indicate topics and meanings and show the purpose of the entire sura. In this article, I seek to undertake a structural analysis of Sūrat Maryam which identifies a different structure from those outlined by previous scholars. This structural analysis is based in, and led by, the study of the theme and purpose of this sura, which I maintain is to provide comfort and reassurance for the Prophet Muḥammad.

Citation

Abdel-Haleem, M. (2020). Sūrat Maryam (Q. 19): Comforting Muḥammad. Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 22(2), 60-85. https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2020.0425

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 16, 2019
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Feb 5, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 5, 2020
• Journal: Journal of Qur'anic Studies
• Print ISSN: 1465-3591
• Electronic ISSN: 1755-1730
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 60-85
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2020.0425
• Keywords: Mary, Maryam, structure, coherence, function, Qur'an, Sura 19,
• Additional Information: References : For istafāki (has chosen you, Mary) c.f. Q. 3.33 (Jesus) and Q. 38:47 (prophets); for tahharaki (has purified you, Mary) c.f. Q. 3:55 (Jesus) and Q. 33:33 (the wives of Prophet Muḥammad). See, for example, Alhassen, ‘A Structural Analysis’; Robinson, Discovering the Qur’an; Neuwirth, Studien zur Komposition der mekkanischen Suren; and Toorawa, ‘Sūrat Maryam’. Toorawa, ‘Sūrat Maryam’, p. 33. Toorawa, ‘Sūrat Maryam’, pp. 33–50. Alhassen, ‘A Structural Analysis’. Alhassen, ‘A Structural Analysis’, p. 92. Alhassen, ‘A Structural Analysis’, p. 94. More examples of this can be found in Suras 7, 11, 15, 21, 34, 37, 40, 41, 46, 54, and others. See Abdel Haleem, chapter on Sūrat Nūḥ in Exploring the Qur’an. See, for example, al-Wāḥidī, Asbāb al-nuzūl, pp. 203–205. The first verse commented on is verse 64. The comment says that the Prophet asked Gabriel, ‘Why do you not visit us more often?’ giving rise to the response from the angels which comprises this verse. There is also a useful discussion on verse 77, according to which a Muslim blacksmith went to an eminent non-Muslim to ask for payment of a debt and he said, ‘I will not pay you until you denounce your faith in Muḥammad,’ to which the blacksmith replied, ‘I will not do that until you die and are resurrected again.’ The non-Muslim retorted, ‘Well, come to me then and I will pay you then.’ This gives some further indication of the arrogance of the Meccan leaders at that time, and their oppression of the Muslims, seen in part 2 of the sura, which contributed to the psychological state of the Prophet and his community. There is no historical evidence to specify the year. See George Tamer’s Arabic translation of Nöldeke’s Geshichte des Korans (Tamer, Tarīkh, p. xxxvi). I have already collected a good amount of material and will develop this theory further. al-Rāzī takes the view that the objective of this sura is to state the oneness of God, prophethood and the final gathering before God (Mafātih al-ghayb, part 21, p. 222). This could be said of Part 2 of the sura which argues with the disbelievers about these matters but surely would not apply to Zakariyyā’s prayers and the crucial statement at the beginning of the sura: dhikru raḥmati rabbika ʿabdahu Zakariyyā. Samiyy can mean ‘of the same name’ or ‘of the same status’. The phrasing used to refer to both Joseph (Q. 12:22) and Moses (Q. 28:14) reads: When he reached his full strength and manhood, We gave him sound judgement and knowledge: this is how we reward those who do good. This is a better translation than ‘mention’, because the sura is about consoling Muḥammad rather than mentioning things to other people. In Sura 38, none of the many instances of wa’dhkur have fī’l-kitāb after them. Q. 3:43 God is here addressed as al-raḥmān, another important key name of God in this sura, combining power and mercy. See Ḥassan, al-Sabʿ al-mathānī, pp.177–174. The same answer as Zakariyyā was given. al-Rāzī, Mafātih al-ghayb, part 21, p. 204. Alhassen, ‘A Structural Analysis’. Contextually this means, ‘a child you are cradling in your arms’. ‘Sister’ does not necessarily mean biological sister. In Q. 17:27 spendthrifts are referred to as the brothers of Satan (ikhwān al-shayatīn). The Arabs say ‘yā akh al-ʿArab’ (‘O brother of the Arabs’) meaning simply ‘an Arab’. Who is Aaron then? This is not identified and could be taken as an insult or in parallel with the descriptions of her father and mother. al-Rāzī reports that Abū al-Qāsim al-Balkhī said, ‘Jesus said this as an adolescent who understands even though he has not yet reached the stage of taklīf (‘legal responsibility’) (Tafsīr, part 21, p. 213). Alhassen, ‘A Structural Analysis’, p. 99. Ibn ʿAbbas is reported to have held this view (al-Rāzi, Mafātih al-ghayb, p. 213). Alhassen, ‘A Structural Analysis’, p 107. God also says of John in Q. 19:12, We gave him sound judgement as a boy (ṣabiyyan). al-Rāzī states, ‘They have differed about mahd. It is said that it was her lap, based on the narration that she took him in a cloth (khirqa) and brought him to her people. When they saw her, they said what they said, and she pointed at him while he was in her lap; she did not have a home ready in which a cradle could be prepared. Otherwise, its meaning is “how can we talk to a child” whose way is to sleep in a cradle’ (Tafsīr, part 21, p. 208). Fascinating literature developed around this. Al-Rāzī reports (Part 21, p. 207–208), ‘It has been reported from Ibn ʿAbbās (may God be pleased with him) that Joseph brought Mary to a cave and took her inside for 40 days until she had been cleansed of her postpartum bleeding. She then came, carrying him, to her people, and Jesus spoke to her on the way, saying, “O my mother! Be happy, for I am the servant of God and his Messiah.”’ Ṣabiyyan can mean a youth or a baby (Badawi & Haleem, Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage). One of the meanings is ‘not yet weaned’, or ‘younger than a ghulām’ (al-Muʿjam al-wasīṭ). It can cover a wide range of ages, as does ‘child’ in English. In such a situation the context must be the decider. It is helpful in this discussion to refer to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:41–52), where Jesus is left behind in Jerusalem, and when Mary and Joseph return to find him: ‘… after three days, they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.’ It is clear from this that he definitely was not a baby, but that he had sound judgement from a very young age. al-Bukh, Saḥīḥ, vol. 4, bk 55, no. 645, or Wensinck Concordance, vols 5–6, p. 279: ‘Bukhārī Prophets, 48, and Muslim, Birr 8’. See for instance Shaltūt, al-Islām, pp. 53–65. Ṣiddīq is an intensive form of the adjective ṣādiq, translated here as ‘a man of truth’ ‘Peace be with you: I will beg my Lord to forgive you––He has always been gracious (ḥafiyy) to me––but for now I will leave you, and the idols you all pray to, and I will pray to my Lord and trust that my prayer will not be in vain.’ An example of this is found in Q. 37:102, where he submits to God’s will to sacrifice him. He lies down obediently but is reprieved. He commands his family to pray and pay zakāt. Likewise, Muḥammad is commanded in Q. 20:132, Command your family to pray and be steadfast in this. Bell, The Qur’an Translated, vol. 1, p. 284. This usage appears in several places in the Qur’an, including Q. 36:77, Q. 76:3, and Q. 80:17. See for example: Q. 20:130, Q. 50:39, and Q. 73:10. The same argument is also used in connection with Zakariyyā in Q. 19:9, when he questions how he could have a child in his old age. This presumptuousness is repeated again in the Qur’an, at Q. 41:50: Whenever We let him taste some of Our mercy after he has been afflicted, he is sure to say, ‘This is all my own doing: I do not think the Hour will ever come, but even if I were to be taken back to my Lord, the best reward would await me with Him.’ See also Q. 18:36, which shows that this was a regular objection that vexed the Prophet. For example Q. 35:4, God keeps the heavens and earth from vanishing; if they did vanish, no one else could stop them. God is most forbearing, most forgiving, and Q. 79:32. It is clear from the immediate context that this refers to the Arabs’ belief that the angels were daughters of God and should be worshipped as such, cf. Q. 43:19–20. In the previous sura (Q. 18:2) the order is reversed to suit the context. See also Q. 88:21–26, So [Prophet] remind them: your only task is to remind, you are not there to control them. As for those who turn away and disbelieve, God will inflict the greatest torment upon them. It is to Us they will return, and then it is for Us to call them to account. This is the third instance of radd in this sura (the others are in verses 2 and 64), the others are in verses 2 and 64.