Surah Maryam (Mary) 19 : 21

Explanatory Note

Her questioning in this fashion suggests that up to that moment she could not conceive of any way by which that person could give her a child except the familiar way of sexual contact between a male and a female. This is the natural way, according to human perception.

“He answered: Thus did your Lord speak. That is easy for Me. We will make him a sign for mankind and an act of grace from Us.” (Verse 21) This miraculous event that Mary cannot even begin to imagine is easy for God to accomplish. His is the power that says to anything, ‘Be,’ and it immediately exists. Hence, everything is easy for Him, whether it is accomplished according to natural laws that are familiar to man or in some other fashion. The angel, who is referred to in this instance as ‘the Spirit’ tells her that it is God who says that it is easy for Him, and that He wants this unique and remarkable event to be a sign for all mankind, making clear to them His power and free, unshackled will. He also wants this child to be a mercy and a blessing to the Israelites in the first place and to all humanity thereafter. It is by showing them this miraculous event that they know Him, believe in Him and worship Him, seeking to earn His pleasure.

Thus ends the dialogue between the trusted angel and the Virgin Mary. The sūrah does not mention what happened after that exchange, leaving a gap in the story, which frequently happens in the Qur’ān. But it does mention that what the angel said to Mary about the birth of her son is a matter that has been settled and finalized. “It is a matter [We have] decreed.” (Verse 21) But how? Nothing is mentioned here by way of explanation.

However, we can refer here to the use of the phrase, Our Spirit, which is mentioned in this instance and in another sūrah. Here it occurs in the verse: “We, then, sent to her Our Spirit, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being.” (Verse 17) In the other context, the phrase occurs as follows: “And Mary, daughter of `Imrān, who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed of Our Spirit into her.” (66: 12)

Now the question arises as to whether the reference in these two sūrahs is to the same thing or not. From our point of view, the references would appear to be different on each occasion. In the present sūrah, Mary, it refers to Gabriel, the Holy Spirit, who was God’s emissary to Mary. In Sūrah 66, The Prohibition, it refers to the spirit that God breathed into Adam when He created him to make of him a human being. He again breathed of it into Mary to bring about her conception. It is this divine breathing of the spirit that gives life with all its human characteristics. These include the qualities and faculties that enable man to be in contact with the Supreme Society, while also giving him his human feelings, intellect, thought, emotions and inspiration. In Mary’s case, Gabriel carried this breath of the spirit from God to place it into her. We must also add however that we do not know anything about the nature of the spirit, neither when it refers to Gabriel himself, nor when it has a different connotation. Both belong to the realm which is beyond our perception. We simply try to understand the relevant text in the two sūrahs and consider that the usage differs in each case.