Surah Ale-Imran (The Family Of Imran ) 3 : 42

Overview (Verses 42 - 44)

Preparation for a Special Event

The angels said: ‘Mary, God has chosen you and made you pure, and raised you above all the women of the world. Mary, Remain truly devout to your Lord, prostrate yourself [to Him] and bow down with those who bow down in worship. This is an account of something which remained beyond the reach of your perception We now reveal to you. You were not present with them when they cast lots as to which of them should have charge of Mary; nor were you present when they contended about it with one another. (Verses 42-44)
 
Within the context of this sūrah, the miraculous nature of the of birth of John, born to Zachariah and his wife despite their respective old age and barrenness, comes as a prelude to the account of another event around which legends have been woven, even though it is no more than one in a series of events which prove that God’s will is free of all restrictions. At this point, the sūrah begins the story of Christ with the preparation of Mary with purification and worship to receive the spiritual light.
 
“The angels said: Mary, God has chosen you and made you pure, and raised you above all the women of the world. Mary, remain truly devout to your Lord, prostrate yourself Ito Him] and bow down with those who bow down in worship.” (Verses 42-43) What a great honour to be bestowed upon her. She is chosen to receive the Divine spirit directly in the same way as Adam, the first human being to be created, received it. She is to be the means through which this miraculous event is shown to humanity. It is an event which has not been repeated in the entire history of mankind. Hence, it is undoubtedly a great moment. She, however, had no knowledge whatsoever of the event up to that point.
 
The reference here to Mary’s purification is highly significant because the Jews did not hesitate to raise suspicions about Mary’s purity in connection with the birth of her son. Making use of the fact that such a birth is without parallel humanity, they claimed that there must be something dishonourable behind it. Confound them.
 
Here we see in full light a remarkable aspect of the greatness of this religion of Islam, one which illustrates its great origin. Muĥammad, who conveyed the message of Islam, faced determined opposition by the people of earlier revelations, including the Christians, which manifested itself in various forms of denunciation, argument and doubt. Nevertheless, Muĥammad announced what God revealed to him of the great truth of Mary and her exaltation above all the women of the world. He did not mince words about her great honour, even though he was involved in a debate with people who honoured Mary and considered her honour sufficient justification for their refusal to believe in Muĥammad and his message. Can there be any greater honesty and truthfulness? This account shows beyond doubt the source from which this religion of Islam has come and confirms the absolute honesty and integrity of the messenger who conveyed it. He received “the truth” from his Lord about Mary and Jesus and he did not hesitate to declare that truth in that debate. Had he not been a messenger from God who describes Himself as “the truth”, he would not have made that declaration at that particular time.
 
“Mary, remain truly devout to your Lord, prostrate yourself [to Him] and bow down with those who bow down in worship.” Total obedience and constant worship. It is a life totally devoted to God which serves as preparation for the forthcoming event.
 
At this point in the story and before relating the details of these great events, the sūrah briefly refers to one of the purposes behind relating such historical accounts. It proves the fact of revelation which informs the Prophet of events which he did not attend and could not have known from any source other than God: “This is an account of something which remained beyond the reach of your perception We now reveal to you. You were not present with them when they cast lots as to which of them should have charge of Mary; nor were you present when they contended about it with one another.” (Verse 44)
 
This statement refers to the competition among the custodians of the temple to take guardianship of Mary when her mother brought her as a baby to the temple in fulfilment of her vow to her Lord. This verse, in fact, refers to an event which is not related either in the Old or the New Testaments, although it must have been known to the priests and rabbis. The custodians of the temple had to cast their lots in order to determine who would have charge of Mary. The Qur’ānic verse does not provide many details, perhaps because the matter was well known to those to whom the verse was recited, or because it does not add anything to the fact which is meant to be told to future generations. We understand, however, that those custodians agreed on a formula among themselves, through casting lots, to determine Mary’s future guardian, just as we do nowadays when we toss up for one thing or another. Some reports suggest that they cast their pens in the river Jordan. The river swept all the pens away, except that of Zachariah which remained in its place. That could equally have been the agreed formula among them, but no matter what it was, they acknowledged his claim to be Mary’s guardian.
 
All this was of the secrets unknown to the Prophet. He did not attend those events. Moreover, it may have been one of the secrets of the temple not told to anyone. The Qur’ānic account uses it in the debate with the learned authorities of the people of earlier revelations as a proof of God’s revelation to His honest and trustworthy messenger. We have no reports of any reply they might have given to this argument. Had it been debatable, they would have argued it, considering that that was their primary purpose.