Surah Maryam

Maryam ("Mary") is the 19th surah of the Quran. A Meccan surah of 98 verses, it is 44th in the traditional order of revelation, after Fatir, and lies in the sixteenth juz'. It is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose story it tells (19:16–34): she is the only woman named in the Quran, and this is the only surah that bears a woman's name.

Context

The surah opens with five disconnected letters, Kaf-Ha-Ya-'Ayn-Sad, and dates from the early Meccan period: Ibn Mas'ud counted it among the first surahs he learned (al-Bukhari). According to Umm Salama, when the emigrants to Abyssinia were summoned before the Negus, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib recited its opening and the king wept until his beard was wet (Ahmad, with a hasan chain).

Main themes

• Zachariah's quiet prayer for an heir in his old age, and the birth of John (19:2–15).
• Mary receives the angel's announcement and gives birth to Jesus beneath a palm tree; the infant speaks from the cradle: "I am the servant of God" (19:16–33). The idea that God has taken a son is rejected (19:34–40), a claim so grave that "the heavens almost burst apart" (19:88–95). Her story is also told in Aal-e-Imran.
• Abraham's gentle appeal to his idolatrous father, "O my father" (19:41–50), then Moses, Ishmael and Idris (19:51–57).
• The prophets fell down weeping in prostration when the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them (19:58, a verse of prostration), while later generations neglected prayer (19:59).
• Resurrection and judgment (19:66–72), and a closing promise of affection for those who believe and do good (19:96). The divine name al-Rahman recurs throughout.

In the Sunnah

Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Prophet ﷺ asked Gabriel why he did not visit him more often, and verse 64 was revealed: "We descend only by the command of your Lord… and your Lord is never forgetful" (al-Bukhari).