Surah Maryam (Arabic: سورة مريم ), is one of those chapters in the Quran that call your inner spirit, helps you to get up off your pitfalls, glows your soul with hope in your endless way, and turns your passion on, to complete your way even if you are totally in a solitary instance.
Allah is the Almighty companion in our dark ways, he is the light and the power, we rely on Him with deep faith that He wouldn’t abandon us.
Allah is the ِAlmighty Lord, has the entire power and his Command is between two letters “Kaf” and “Noon”, which means An Arabic word that means if Allah ordered anything to be, it will be.
Being Faithful is your decision, not only in the world life but also to decide your terminal end, and the infinite life in the life after, either in the paradise with prophets and righteous, or in Jahanam with the criminals.
Surah Maryam meaning
Surah Maryam’s location in the Quran after Surah Kahf, the scholars said that this arrangement to complete the wondrous miracles which were mentioned in the Kahf surah, and they are:
- The owners of the cave.
- The righteous man and Moses.
- Dhul Qarnayn.
Honoring Mariam in Islam
The name of surah e Maryam is about the chaste Maryam, the mother of Jesus, peace be upon him, to defend her against the false claims, that was narrated by Jewish” Jesus was born from sinful affair”, not only to defend her but to give a special place and dignity to Mariam.
Maryam was the only woman’s name that was mentioned frankly in the holy Quran, and this is an obvious indication of her dignity in Islam, which appears not only in suratul maryam but in many other surahs.
وإذ قالت الملائكة يا مريم إن الله اصطفاك وطهرك واصطفاك على نساء العالمين (42)آل عمران
Here in surah Al Imran, Allah said” and when the angels said, O Maryam indeed Allah chose you, purified, and elected you over all the women”
That means, Allah gave her special stature, which wasn’t given to any other woman till the end of the world life.
Two miraculous prophets:
- The first prophet is Yahyya, peace be upon him, his holy birth is the first miracle in surah Maryam, his Father, zakaryya(PBUH) was a very old man, and his wife was a very old and barred woman, but both longed to have a child to be their heir, but their inner feeling was that this hope is impossible one, but they supplicated Allah to give them a righteous boy.
The Almighty Lord has the entire power and the depositories of Allah are infinite, so Allah bestowed over them his blessing and gave them a miraculous boy and was Named Yahyya.
Allah said in surat al anbiyyaa verse number 90:
فاستجبنا له ووهبنا له يحيى وأصلحنا له زوجه إنهم كانوا يسارعون في الخيرات ويدعوننا رغبا ورهبا وكانوا لنا خاشعين (90)
Allah said that he responded to their supplication and bestowed over them with Yahyaa, and cured his wife, that’s because they were racing to do good things, and supplicate to Allah with fear and desireless, and they were devoted to him.
- The second wondrous prophet is Jesus, Peace Be Upon Him, he was born to a chaste Mother, Maryam, she never married, and she wasn’t adultery, she is the model of chastity in Islam and even in Christianity, Allah sent to her his messenger Gabriel in a man state, he told her that he is a messenger of Allah to grant to her a righteous boy, Jesus PBUH.
قالت أنى يكون لي غلام ولم يمسسني بشر ولم أك بغيا (20) قال كذلك قال ربك هو علي هين ولنجعله آية للناس ورحمة منا وكان أمرا مقضيا (21)
Surah Maryam read online
Where was surah Maryam revealed?
Maryam surah is one of the chapters that was revealed in Mecca and that was obvious from the Story of the companion of the beloved Prophet, PBUH, Jaafar Ibn Abi Ta lib, may Allah be pleased with him and please him, After Muslims migrated to Abyssinia, the first migration, and when the King of Abyssinia met them, he recites on him the verses of surah Maryam, when Negus, the king of Abyssinia heard the verses he said this words and the words of Jesus indeed came from the same lantern, that means the lord who sent Muhammed is the one who sent Jesus.
Accordingly, the verses of surah e Maryam were revealed in Mecca because the Migration to Abyssinia was before the migration to Medina.
Is Surah Maryam Makki or Madani?
The consensus of the scholars is that the verses of Al Maryam surah are Makki, but there is an opinion about verses number 58 and 71 that they were revealed in Al-Medina.
The characters of Makki verses in surah Maryam
Here, we will mention some of the Makki verses characters that were obvious in Maryam surah
- Presence of the divided letters in its beginning,” Kaf HA Ya Aynon SAAd” كٓهيعٓصٓ.
- The prostration in verse number 58.
أولئك الذين أنعم الله عليهم من النبيين من ذرية آدم وممن حملنا مع نوح ومن ذرية إبراهيم وإسرائيل وممن هدينا واجتبينا إذا تتلى عليهم آيات الرحمن خروا سجدا وبكيا (58)۩
Allah said in this verse “And those whom Allah bestowed blessings over them from the prophets, from the offsprings of Adam, and from whom we carried with Noah, and from the offsprings of Ibrahim and Israel, and from whom we instructed and choose, those when the verses of the merciful lord were revealed on them, they fall down prostrating and weeping.
- Throughout the verses of Surah Al Maryam, Allah told us stories of several prophets, he told us about Zakarya, Yahya, Jesus, Ismail, and Ibrahim and briefly about other prophets.
- The scenes from the resurrection, paradise, and Jahanam.
Why was surah Maryam revealed?
The number of verses of surah Maryam is 98 AYA, the narrations about the reasons for revelation are not for all verses, and we will mention them:
- The first narration when the revelation of Quran delayed, and the prophet peace be upon, longed to Gabriel and the revelation, when he met Gabriel he told him that, and Gabriel told him PBUH that he longed to him too, then the verse number 64 of surah Maryam was revealed:
وما نتنزل إلا بأمر ربك له ما بين أيدينا وما خلفنا وما بين ذلك وما كان ربك نسيا (64)
Maryam surah
Here Allah told Mohamed that the revelation is according to Allah’s command, he has the entire knowledge, and he didn’t forget him.
- In the second narration about the reason of revelation in the verse number 66, the scholars said it was revealed about Obai IBN Khalaf, one of the infidels, when he was standing between his people while catching an old bone then he crumbled it, and it was turned into ash, he said Muhamad claimed that his god can revive us when we became ashes!
Then Allah revealed:
ويقول الإنسان أإذا ما مت لسوف أخرج حيا (66)
Maryammaryam
And the man is saying, while he is deriding, if I died I will be revived?!
- The third narration was about the verse number 77, the scholars said it was about Al Aas Ibn Wael Al Sahmyy, who was a polytheist, he owed money from Al Khabab Ibn Al Arth, one of the prophet’s PBUH companions, when Khabab asked about his debt from AL-Aas he refused to give him unless he disbelieves of Muhammed.
Khabab refused and told him that he will take his debt on the resurrection day, Al-Aas said if I revived in the resurrection day as khabab said, I will avoid the torment of that day by my wealth, so Allah revealed his words:
أفرأيت الذي كفر بآياتنا وقال لأوتين مالا وولد(77)
“Did you see who disbelieved and said, I will have money and son”77 Maryam surah
When was surah Maryam revealed?
Surah Maryam was revealed before the migration to Medina, and that was before the revelation of surah Fater, and its order in Quran after surah Kahf to complete the wondrous miracles that were mentioned in Kahf Surah.
Why the surah was named Maryam?
Maryam surah or, Kaf Haa Yaa Ayn Saad, those are the names of our surah, the Name of Maryam surah is related to Chase Mary and the Mother of Jesus PBUH, to express her dignity and special state in Islam, and to defend her against the criminal claims of Jewish, that she was an adulterer.
Maryam’s name wasn’t only mentioned in this surah, but it was mentioned 24 times in the Holy Quran, not only because she was the Mother of Jesus PBUH, but for her own stature, she was the idol of stamina not only for women who are suffering but for men either.
She was alone against her fear of her people’s torture, and from the miracle that had happened for the first time in humanity:
فأجاءها المخاض إلى جذع النخلة قالت يا ليتني مت قبل هذا وكنت نسيا منسيا (23)
surah matyam
And when the labor begin, she took the palm trunk as a support, she said I wished I was died before that and was forgotten.
What is the main theme of Surah Maryam?
Surah Maryam is one of those chapters that contain several themes, and each theme is mentioned in several words here we will mention the main themes:
- The first theme was about zakarya PBUH, and his supplication to Allah to ask him for an heir, to hold his legacy after his death, then Allah accept him and granted him Yahya PBUH.
- The second theme was about Maryam, the mother of Jesus PBUH, the women who were given a high state over the women of all humanity, and the holy birth of Jesus PBUH.
- As part of Ibrahim’s PBUH prophecy and his call of his Father to Almighty God, who has no partner, he asked him to abandon idolatry.
- Brief indication to several prophets, like Moses, Herõon, Ismael, and Idris, peace be upon them all.
- Some scenes of the torture of the infidels in Jahanam, and scenes of Paradise and its people.
Surah Maryam benefits
Surah Maryam contains many benefits and virtues, and we will mention some of them:
- The dignity of Maryam in Islam and her son is a prophet:
Believing in what comes in the Quran, is the sign of your faith, we can’t be Muslims if we didn’t.
The claims from Jewish that Maryam is an adulterer and her son Jesus PBUH came from sinful fair, we must refuse it and defend Maryam.
And the claim that Jesus is Allah’s son is a criminal claim, Allah is the Almighty he doesn’t need a son or a partner, and we are his submissive servants.
- The parents deserve our charity and mercy:
The prophets’ life taught us the righteous manners, and one of those is to be good to your parents, not only by obeying them but also to advise them if their way needs to be corrected.
- Patience while suffering:
Each story of the prophets contains a part of suffering and a sign of patience.
The story of zakarya showed us that although he was a prophet he didn’t have a son till he was elderly, and the story of Ibrahim gives us a hint about the suffering of Ibrahim PBUH that he saw his father taking his way to fire with steady steps.
The suffering of Maryam due to the miracle she had, and her patience and strength against it.
- We hear and we obey
Being an obedient servant to Allah, a caller to the righteous way, and respecting the prophets, peace be upon all of them, will be your way to heaven.
Tafsir surah Maryam
As we previously mentioned, tafsir is one of the best aids in memorizing the Quran, and also to understand Allah’s will, here we will also understand how the life of the previous prophets was, their sacrifices, pains, miracles, and their happy events.
Surah Maryam is divided into several themes, each theme was explained in successive verses, so we will begin to talk individually about each theme:
The supplication of Zakaryya
From verses 1 to 15:
Here Allah tells us about one of his merciful miracles, which He bestowed over one of his servants, Zakarya.
ذكر رحمت ربك عبده زكريا (2)
“A mention of Allah’s mercy upon his servant Zakaryya”.
Zakarrya was one of the prophets of Israelites, he was a very old man and his wife was barred, then he was afraid to die, and the legacy of the prophecy would be lost by Israelites.
He asked Allah, an heir, to grasp the legacy of prophecy.
يا زكريا إنا نبشرك بغلام اسمه يحيى لم نجعل له من قبل سميا (7)
Allah accepted his supplication and gave him good tidings of a boy, his name is Yahya, it was the first time to been named with.
Zakarya and his wife were shocked, they knew that Allah has the entire power to do anything, but by human rules, it’s an impossible thing to happen.
Then Zakarya asked Allah to send him a sign. Allah told him that he wouldn’t be able to talk to people for three days, here zakarya wanted to be a thankful servant, he gave his people a hint as he couldn’t talk, and exalted Allah day and night.
يا يحيى خذ الكتاب بقوة وآتيناه الحكم صبيا (12)
Here, Yahya was born and inherited the prophecy from his father and grands, he was merciful to his parents and obedient to his Lord.
Chase Maryam and her son was a prophet:
From verses 16 to 36
The second story that was mentioned of Maryam surah, was about Maryam, the chase woman and a brave soldier in this great test, and the chosen to have a wondrous miracle.
Maryam used to take apart from her people, to devote herself to Allah in complete devotion.
Here Allah sent her Gabriel in a human state, and he told her that Allah selected her and purified her among the women of all humanity to have a miraculous boy.
قال إنما أنا رسول ربك لأهب لك غلاما زكيا (19)
She freaked out, and sought protection from Allah, how it could be?! She hadn’t ever married, and she wasn’t an adulterer.
قالت أنى يكون لي غلام ولم يمسسني بشر ولم أك بغيا (20)
But there is no impossible under the will of Allah, when He says to anything to be it will definitely be.
Then she was pregnant, and she was afraid of her people and escaped away from them.
Then she had the pains of labor and this was very hard, she was lonely and isolated, afraid and suffering.
Allah revealed to her not to be afraid and wait for another miracle, to eat and drink and fast of talking.
فكلي واشربي وقري عينا فإما ترين من البشر أحدا فقولي إني نذرت للرحمن صوما فلن أكلم اليوم إنسيا (26)
Then she was ordered to go to her people, and when they asked her about the sinful act that she had done, she was commanded just to point to her son to talk!
Here, her people were shocked by what she wanted them to do, and how they would talk to the newborn.
Here, was the second miracle, the newborn talked and said that he was a servant of God, he was sent to them with the message of Allah, and he commanded him to pray and give to the poor as he will be alive.
The story of Mariam and his son Jesus, was to reveal that Mariam wasn’t an adulterer and Jesus is a servant that was created by a miracle, and he can’t be Allah’s son.
Ibrahim’s charity
From 37 to 50
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, tried to convince his people to abandon idolatry, but he began with his father, that taught us that the relatives, especially the parents, deserved our charity more than any other else.
Although Ibrahim showed them all the proof of Allah’s monotheism, they insisted on refusing.
فلما اعتزلهم وما يعبدون من دون الله وهبنا له إسحاق ويعقوب وكلا جعلنا نبيا (49)
He avoided them all, and he was given his sons Is’haq, yaakoub, and they were prophets also.
The prostration
The verse 58
أولئك الذين أنعم الله عليهم من النبيين من ذرية آدم وممن حملنا مع نوح ومن ذرية إبراهيم وإسرائيل وممن هدينا واجتبينا إذا تتلى عليهم آيات الرحمن خروا سجدا وبكيا(58)
Before this Aya Allah mentioned several prophets, like Moses, Haron, Ismail, and Idris.
All those prophets were chosen by Allah, and this election is a blessing that was bestowed over them, they knew that, and they knew that they should be thankful servants.
Reasons of fire torment, and the way to paradise
From verses 59 till 93
Here Allah explained to the infidels the reasons for their miserable end that they will definitely reach if they insist on leaving the righteous way.
أفرأيت الذي كفر بآياتنا وقال لأوتين مالا وولدا (77) أطلع الغيب أم اتخذ عند الرحمن عهدا (78)
Those who thought that Allah will accept their wealth on the judgment day and ignore their torment!
(78) كلا سنكتب ما يقول ونمد له من العذاب مدا (79) ونرثه ما يقول ويأتينا فردا (80)
Everything he said will be counted and written, and there, on the resurrection day, let us see how his son will escape from him and will be busy with his book, and the wealth will not help him!
واتخذوا من دون الله آلهة ليكونوا لهم عزا (81) كلا سيكفرون بعبادتهم ويكونون عليهم ضدا (82
Another reason for their torment is that they worship gods unless Allah, there is the judgment day, those who they took as God’s will say that we are not gods, and they do these sins on their own.
إن الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات سيجعل لهم الرحمن ودا
And those who worship Allah will be the closest to him.
How to memorize Surah Maryam?
Memorizing Quran is one of the worships that Muslims Keep seeking to do, as with any other worship our heart has to attend and be sincere, we had to turn to Allah with our hearts in complete devotion and ask him to help and facilitate.
As surah Maryam contained 98 verses we could think that it’s an impossible mission to keep memorizing it, but in fact, it’s one of the most memorized surahs by Muslims even those who didn’t intend to do, because of keeping listening to its verses.
Now we will mention brief steps to begin In shaa Allah:
- Search for Shaikh or Imam To begin reciting Quran between his Hands.
- Read an interpretation of surah Maryam, and recognize that it’s divided into themes, so try to memorize each theme.
- Listening is one of the most aids that you should have, many people memorized several verses of Maryam only by listening to it.
- Keep reciting each part that you already memorized in each prayer.
- And finally reciting Quran needs sustenance, of course, you will forget if you stopped, so try to keep reciting even little but sustained.
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