Tarikh (al-Tabari) 309
The story of ʿĪsā b. Maryam (peace be upon him)
ذَكَرْنَا حَالَ مَرْيَمَ فِي خِدْمَةِ الْكَنِيسَةِ، وَكَانَتْ هِيَ وَابْنُ عَمِّهَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ مَاثَانَ النَّجَّارُ يَلِيَانِ خِدْمَةَ الْكَنِيسَةِ، وَكَانَ يُوسُفُ حَكِيمًا نَجَّارًا يَعْمَلُ بِيَدَيْهِ وَيَتَصَدَّقُ بِذَلِكَ. وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى: إِنَّ مَرْيَمَ كَانَ قَدْ تَزَوَّجَهَا يُوسُفُ ابْنُ عَمِّهَا إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَقْرَبْهَا إِلَّا بَعْدَ رَفْعِ الْمَسِيحِ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَكَانَتْ مَرْيَمُ إِذَا نَفِدَ مَاؤُهَا وَمَاءُ يُوسُفَ ابْنِ عَمِّهَا أَخَذَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا قُلَّتَهُ وَانْطَلَقَ إِلَى الْمَغَارَةِ الَّتِي فِيهَا الْمَاءُ يَسْتَعْذِبَانِ مِنْهُ ثُمَّ يَرْجِعَانِ إِلَى الْكَنِيسَةِ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي لَقِيَهَا فِيهِ جِبْرِيلُ نَفِدَ مَاؤُهَا فَقَالَتْ لِيُوسُفَ لِيَذْهَبَ مَعَهَا إِلَى الْمَاءِ، فَقَالَ: عِنْدِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ مَا يَكْفِينِي إِلَى غَدٍ، فَأَخَذَتْ قُلَّتَهَا وَانْطَلَقَتْ وَحْدَهَا حَتَّى دَخَلَتِ الْمَغَارَةَ، فَوَجَدَتْ جَبْرَائِيلَ قَدْ مَثَّلَهُ اللَّهُ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا، فَقَالَ لَهَا: يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ بَعَثَنِي إِلَيْكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَامًا زَكِيًّا. قَالَتْ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِالرَّحْمَنِ مِنْكَ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَقِيًّا أَيْ مُطِيعًا لِلَّهِ، وَقِيلَ: هُوَ اسْمُ رَجُلٍ بِعَيْنِهِ، وَتَحْسَبُهُ رَجُلًا، قَالَ إِنَّمَا أَنَا رَسُولُ رَبِّكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَامًا زَكِيًّا قَالَتْ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّا - أَيْ زَانِيَةً - قَالَ كَذَلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ، إِلَى قَوْلِهِ أَمْرًا مَقْضِيًّا فَلَمَّا قَالَ ذَلِكَ اسْتَسْلَمَتْ لِقَضَاءِ اللَّهِ، وَنَفَخَ فِي جَيْبِ دِرْعِهَا ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَ عَنْهَا وَقَدْ حَمَلَتْ بِالْمَسِيحِ، وَمَلَأَتْ قُلَّتَهَا وَعَادَتْ، وَكَانَ لَا يُعْلَمُ فِي أَهْلِ زَمَانِهَا أَعْبَدُ مِنْهَا وَمِنِ ابْنِ عَمِّهَا يُوسُفَ النَّجَّارِ، وَكَانَ مَعَهَا، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ أَنْكَرَ حَمْلَهَا، فَلَمَّا رَأَى الَّذِي بِهَا اسْتَعْظَمَهُ وَلَمْ يَدْرِ عَلَى مَاذَا يَضَعُ ذَلِكَ مِنْهَا، فَإِذَا أَرَادَ يَتَّهِمُهَا ذَكَرَ صَلَاحَهَا وَأَنَّهَا لَمْ تَغِبْ عَنْهُ سَاعَةً قَطُّ، وَإِذَا أَرَادَ يُبَرِّئُهَا رَأَى الَّذِي بِهَا، فَلَمَّا اشْتَدَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِ كَلَّمَهَا فَكَانَ أَوَّلُ كَلَامِهِ لَهَا أَنْ قَالَ لَهَا: إِنَّهُ قَدْ وَقَعَ مِنْ أَمْرِكِ شَيْءٌ قَدْ حَرَصْتُ عَلَى أَنْ أُمِيتَهُ وَأَكْتُمَهُ فَغَلَبَنِي. فَقَالَتْ: قُلْ قَوْلًا جَمِيلًا. فَقَالَ: حَدِّثِينِي هَلْ يَنْبُتُ زَرْعٌ بِغَيْرِ بَذْرٍ ؟ قَالَتْ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: فَهَلْ يَنْبُتُ شَجَرٌ بِغَيْرِ غَيْثٍ يُصِيبُهُ ؟ قَالَتْ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: فَهَلْ يَكُونُ وَلَدٌ بِغَيْرِ ذَكَرٍ ؟ قَالَتْ لَهُ: نَعَمْ، أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَنْبَتَ الزَّرْعَ يَوْمَ خَلَقَهُ بِغَيْرِ بَذْرٍ ! أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ الشَّجَرَ مِنْ غَيْرِ مَطَرٍ ! وَأَنَّهُ جَعَلَ بِتِلْكَ الْقُدْرَةِ الْغَيْثَ حَيَاةً لِلشَّجَرِ بَعْدَمَا خَلَقَ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا وَحْدَهُ ! أَوَ تَقُولُ لَنْ يَقْدِرَ اللَّهُ عَلَى أَنْ يُنْبِتَ حَتَّى يَسْتَعِينَ بِالْبَذْرِ وَالْمَطَرِ ! قَالَ يُوسُفُ: لَا أَقُولُ هَكَذَا وَلَكِنِّي أَقُولُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى مَا يَشَاءُ، إِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لِذَلِكَ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ. قَالَتْ لَهُ: أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ وَحَوَّاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ ذَكَرٍ وَلَا أُنْثَى ! قَالَ: بَلَى، فَلَمَّا قَالَتْ لَهُ ذَلِكَ وَقَعَ فِي نَفْسِهِ أَنَّ الَّذِي بِهَا شَيْءٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ لَا يَسَعُهُ أَنْ يَسْأَلَهَا عَنْهُ لِمَا رَأَى مِنْ كِتْمَانِهَا لَهُ. وَقِيلَ: إِنَّهَا خَرَجَتْ إِلَى جَانِبِ الْحُجُرَاتِ لِحَيْضٍ أَصَابَهَا فَاتَّخَذَتْ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا مِنَ الْجُدْرَانِ، فَلَمَّا طَهُرَتْ إِذَا بِرَجُلٍ مَعَهَا، وَذَكَرَ الْآيَاتِ، فَلَمَّا حَمَلَتْ أَتَتْهَا خَالَتُهَا امْرَأَةُ زَكَرِيَّاءَ لَيْلَةً تَزُورُهَا، فَلَمَّا فَتَحَتْ لَهَا الْبَابَ الْتَزَمَتْهَا، فَقَالَتِ امْرَأَةُ زَكَرِيَّاءَ: إِنِّي حُبْلَى. فَقَالَتْ لَهَا مَرْيَمُ: وَأَنَا أَيْضًا حُبْلَى. قَالَتِ امْرَأَةُ زَكَرِيَّاءَ: فَإِنِّي وَجَدْتُ مَا فِي بَطْنِي يَسْجُدُ لِمَا فِي بَطْنِكِ. وَوَلَدَتِ امْرَأَةُ زَكَرِيَّاءَ يَحْيَى. وَقَدِ اخْتُلِفَ فِي مُدَّةِ حَمْلِهَا، فَقِيلَ: تِسْعَةُ أَشْهُرٍ، وَهُوَ قَوْلُ النَّصَارَى، وَقِيلَ ثَمَانِيَةُ أَشْهُرٍ، فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ آيَةً أُخْرَى لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَعِشْ مَوْلُودٌ لِثَمَانِيَةِ أَشْهُرِ غَيْرُهُ، وَقِيلَ: سِتَّةُ أَشْهُرٍ، وَقِيلَ ثَلَاثُ سَاعَاتٍ، وَقِيلَ: سَاعَةً وَاحِدَةً.
Translation
✧ We have mentioned the situation of Maryam in the service of the church. She and her cousin Yūsuf b. Yaʿqūb b. Māthān the carpenter were in charge of the service of the church. Yūsuf was a wise carpenter who worked with his own hands and gave charity from that. The Christians said: Maryam had been married to Yūsuf, her cousin, except that he did not touch her until after the ascension of the Messiah, and Allah knows best. Whenever Maryam's water and the water of Yūsuf, her cousin, ran out, each of them would take his water skin and set out to the cave where the water was, to draw fresh water from it, then return to the church. On the day when Jibrīl met her, her water ran out. She told Yūsuf to go with her to the water. He said: I have enough water to last me until tomorrow. So she took her water skin and set out alone until she entered the cave. She found Jibrāʾīl, whom Allah had made appear to her as a well-proportioned human being. He said to her: O Maryam, Allah has sent me to you to give you a pure boy. She said: Indeed I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, if you are God-fearing—that is, obedient to Allah. And it is said: it is the name of a specific man, and she thought him to be a man. He said: I am only a messenger of your Lord, to give you a pure boy. She said: How can I have a boy when no human has touched me, and I have not been unchaste—that is, an adulteress. He said: Thus said your Lord, up to His saying: a decreed matter. When he said that, she submitted to Allah's decree. He blew into the opening of her garment, then left her, and she had conceived the Messiah. She filled her water skin and returned. There was no one among the people of her time more devoted to worship than she and her cousin Yūsuf the carpenter. He was with her, and he was the first to deny her pregnancy. When he saw what was in her, he regarded it as grave and did not know how to interpret it regarding her. If he wanted to accuse her, he remembered her righteousness and that she had never been absent from him for a single hour. If he wanted to absolve her, he saw what was in her. When that became unbearable for him, he spoke to her. The first thing he said to her was: Something has happened regarding your affair that I have striven to suppress and conceal, but it has overcome me. She said: Say a kindly word. He said: Tell me, does a crop grow without seed? She said: Yes. He said: Does a tree grow without rain falling on it? She said: Yes. He said: Can there be a child without a male? She said to him: Yes. Do you not know that Allah caused the crop to grow on the day He created it without seed! Do you not know that Allah created trees without rain! And that by that same power He made rain a source of life for trees after He had created each of them alone! Or do you say that Allah is not able to make things grow unless He seeks help from seed and rain! Yūsuf said: I do not say that; rather I say that Allah is able to do whatever He wills. He merely says to it: Be, and it is. She said to him: Do you not know that Allah created Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ without a male or a female! He said: Yes. When she said that to him, it occurred to him that what was in her was something from Allah, and it was not proper for him to ask her about it, because of the concealment he saw in her. It is also said: She went out to the side of the chambers because of menstruation that had befallen her, and she took a screen from them by means of walls. When she became pure, there was a man with her—and he mentioned the verses. When she became pregnant, her maternal aunt, the wife of Zakariyyāʾ, came to her one night to visit her. When she opened the door for her, she embraced her. The wife of Zakariyyāʾ said: I am pregnant. Maryam said to her: I too am pregnant. The wife of Zakariyyāʾ said: I find that what is in my womb prostrates to what is in your womb. The wife of Zakariyyāʾ gave birth to Yaḥyā. There is disagreement about the length of Maryam's pregnancy. It is said: nine months, and that is the saying of the Christians. It is said: eight months, and that was another sign because no child born at eight months survived except him. It is said: six months. It is said: three hours. It is said: one hour.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.