The existence of our universe and all in it can be attributed to Allah(SWT) alone. He is the Creator and everything surrounding us is the entirety of His creation. The ultimate meeting point for all is the Hereafter, when we will all meet our Creator. Allah chose righteous descendants from Adam to lead us away from darkness and unto His knowledge. Some of these descendants are Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Yahya, Isa(Jesus), and the last Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon them all). Maryam was from a family of pious people and we find many references of them in the Qur’an. Besides being the mother of Isa (A)we also read that she is the daughter of Imran (Qur’an 66:12), sister of Aaron (Qur’an 19:28) and that Yahya, son of Zachariah, was her nephew. According to Prophet Muhammad’s (S) teachings, her family was descended from Abraham and they were all devoted to the worship of the Lord; and her father, Imran was a very righteous man. There are many Surahs devoted to her and she is the only woman mentioned by name in the Qur’an; 34 times in all. In the Qur’an we only see anyone singled out by name if there is a purpose and in this instance it is to leave no doubt as to her been chosen to bring forth the miracle of the birth of Isa ibn Maryam (A). In eleven instances there is assertion to her nobility, Allah’s favor upon her and the announcement of her conception of Isa (A). Her character is exalted as is her purity: And behold the excellence of she who preserved her chastity. Thus We breathed into her of Our spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all the worlds (Qur’an, 21:91) From the moment of her conception, Maryam’s life promised to be different. Maryam’s mother, on finding out that she was carrying a child, believed that she would bear a son and dedicated her unborn child to serve God throughout his life. She prayed: “My Lord, I have dedicated to You, in devotion, what is in my belly. So accept it from me. Indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” (Qur’an, 3:35) At the birth of Maryam she said, “My Lord, indeed I have delivered her…and the male is not like the female!” (Quran, 3:36) Even though surprised to have brought a female child into the world, she did not swerve from her promise to Allah and offered her to Him, “And I have named her Maryam, and I seek refuge in You for her and her children from Satan, the accursed.” (Qur’an, 3:36) So begins the life of one of the most exceptional women in history. The baby Maryam was born soon after the loss of her father, she was taken care of by Prophet Zachariah (A). Thus her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance and made her grow a good growing, and He gave Zachariah the care of her (Qur’an, 3:37) Allah gave her knowledge and at a young age she received a message from the angels that she would be the one to carry out a momen tous mission. The angels said, “OMaryam, indeed God has chosen you and purified you and has chosen you above the women of the world” (Quran, 3:42) Living almost permanently in the place of wor ship, Maryam had her own sanctuary within it, which faced towards the East. There was a cur tain separating her sanctuary from the rest of her family members so that she could devote herself entirely to Allah. She never needed to seek suste- nance as it would miraculously appear by her: Every time Zakariyah entered the Mihrab (sanctuary) to (visit) her, he found her supplied with sustenance. He said: OMaryam! From where have you got this?” She said, “This is from Allah. Allah provides to whom He wills, without limit.” (Qur’an, 3:37) Thus her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance and made her grow a good growing, and He gave Zachariah the care of her (Qur’an, 3:37) 15
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