And when He informed her, glorified and exalted is He, of what He had chosen for her, He commanded her to be grateful. He said: "O Mary, be devoutly obedient"; meaning, dedicate your actions to worship of your Lord, who has accustomed you to goodness by raising you with this upbringing.

And when He presented the sincerity, which is the essence of worship, He followed it with honor. He said: "And prostrate"; for the closest a servant is to his Lord is when he is in prostration. Al-Harali said: And among the special characteristics of this noble selection - that is, the second - is what He specifically addressed her with regarding the bowing that she joined with this nation of worshippers, which Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has informed her of the secret of His greatness, which is His garment, regarding what He has not disclosed to anyone besides her in His saying: "And bow with those who bow"; as He said to the Children of Israel when commanding them with the Muhammadan religion: "And bow with those who bow" [Al-Baqarah: 43] - to what occurs from the perfection of what she was given glad tidings of, where He will speak to the people as an adult at the end of the Muhammadan day, and He will complete for him human existence where he will marry and have children - as has been mentioned. And all of this is in what the letter 'M' of completion indicates at the beginning of the name and its end, and in what lies between the two completions of the noble upbringing for her, which the letter 'R' indicates of the truth's guardianship over her in her upbringing and provision, and what the letter 'Y' indicates of her perfection, which she was chosen for over her world. The end.

And what is meant by following its story is to indicate its inclusion in the course of what has passed regarding Adam and Yahya, explicitly, and Ibrahim in the structures of a miraculous event in them. And that specifying it with denial or astonishment and disputing with acknowledgment of their matter is not from the actions of the wise. And it appears that what is meant by prostration in this context is its apparent meaning, and by bowing is the prayer itself. It is as if it was said: 'And prostrate while praying,' and let your prayer be with the praying ones, meaning in congregation. For you are among the men due to what you have been specified with of perfection. And it did not say: 'with the bowing ones,' because following men is better, more honorable, and more complete. And I only say this because I have followed the Torah and did not find it mentioning bowing in the prayer of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him, nor any of the prophets after him, blessings and peace be upon them, nor their followers, except in one instance which is not appropriate to place here based on its apparent meaning. And I saw it mentioned prayer in three ways: the first is the general mention of it without specifying how; the second is the general mention of prostration alone; and the third is its mention coupled with bowing or kneeling or falling on the face and such. In the first instance from it in the story of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him, when his wife Sarah, may Allah be pleased with her, died, he asked the children of Heth, the people of that land, to give him a place to bury her. They responded to him, so Ibrahim stood and prostrated to the people of the land, the children of Heth, and spoke to them. And in it, in a divine story, it is said: 'And he prostrated on the ground and said: O Lord' - then he mentioned a supplication and then said: 'And Ibrahim prayed before his Lord.' And in it, in the story of a servant of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him, that he went to the land of Harran to propose for Isaac, blessings and peace be upon him, a woman, and he succeeded in his aim: the man - that is, the servant of Ibrahim - knelt on the ground and prostrated to the Lord and said: 'Blessed is Allah, the Lord of my master Ibrahim.' And in it, when the family of the woman answered him: when the servant of Ibrahim heard their words, he prostrated on the ground before the woman. And in it, at the meeting of Esau with his brother Yaqub, blessings and peace be upon him: the mothers and their children came near and prostrated - that is, to Esau, and Leah and her son came near and prostrated; and when finally Rachel and Yusuf came near, they prostrated. And in it, in the story of Yusuf, blessings and peace be upon him: his brothers came near and fell down to him in prostration and said to him: 'Here we are, your servants.' And in the second instance when Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, came to the Children of Israel and informed them of Allah's sending him, glorified and exalted is He, and showed them the signs: the people believed and heard that the Lord had mentioned the Children of Israel and looked at their submission, and the people knelt and prostrated to the Lord. And in it, in their exodus from Egypt: the entire people prostrated to Allah, glorified and exalted is He. And in it: Musa hurried and fell on his face on the ground in prostration. And in it, in the reception of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, by his father-in-law Shu'ayb, blessings and peace be upon them, when he came to congratulate him for what Allah had bestowed upon him after the drowning of Pharaoh: Musa went out to meet his father-in-law and prostrated to him and kissed him, and each of them asked about the safety of his companion. And in it: Allah, glorified and exalted is He, said to Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, when He gave him the glad tidings of the killing of the Canaanites and others from the inhabitants of the land of Jerusalem: 'Do not prostrate to their gods nor worship them nor do as they do - rather, throw them down on their faces and break their idols - and worship the Lord, your God.' And in the early parts of the third instance in mentioning the appearance of the glory of the Lord to them in the Tabernacle of the time to which they prayed during the life of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him: all the people witnessed that and praised Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and the entire people fell on their faces. And in the fourth instance, when the Children of Israel intended to return to Egypt out of discontent with their situation: Musa and Harun, blessings and peace be upon them, fell on their faces in prostration before the congregation of all the Children of Israel. And in it: And the Lord spoke to Musa and Harun and said to them: 'Separate yourselves from this congregation, for I am destroying it,' so they both fell in prostration on their faces. And in it, when they complained to him about thirst: Musa and Harun came from the congregation to the door of the Tabernacle of the time and fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them - and he mentioned the story of striking the rock with the staff and the bursting of water. And in it, in the story of Bil'am ibn Ba'ura when he saw an angel on his way, he knelt on his face in prostration.

As for the utterance of the word 'prayer', it was said in the last book of the second: When Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, would go out to the dome of time, all the people would stand, and each person among them would prepare at the door of his tent. They would look at Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, from behind him until he entered the dome. When Moses entered the dome, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the dome, and it would speak to Moses. All the people would look at the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the dome, and all the people would stand and each person among them would pray at the door of his tent. And in it: He made a basin of copper and set it at the place where the women would come to pray at the door of the dome of the appointed time.

And all that is mentioned in it regarding prayer, thus its word is uttered without being coupled with what guides to how it is performed, so there is no benefit in recounting it. And this dome, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, commanded Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, to take it as a manifestation of glory and to make it like the form of the cloud that His glory appeared to him in at Mount Sinai. It is one of the wonders of time in height, width, and form. In it are wood, houses, shrines, pillars, jewels, and plates of gold, silver, and copper, as well as tents and curtains made of silk, purple, linen, and pegs, and other things that description cannot encompass. All of it is by a text that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, specified regarding the length, width, weight, and place, such that there were in it from the plates of gold and its nails and similar items twenty-nine quintals and four hundred and thirty mithqals by the mithqal of the sacred measure, and from silver one hundred quintals and one thousand seven hundred and seventy mithqals, and from copper seventy quintals and two thousand four hundred mithqals. This dome would be set up in a place on the earth, and the sons of Levi, the tribe of Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, and Aaron would descend around it, serving it before Aaron, blessings and peace be upon him, and his sons. Whoever approached it from others would be burned. The tribes of the Children of Israel would descend around the sons of Levi, with each tribe having a designated place that it would not exceed from its east, west, south, and north. All of that was by command from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, to Moses, blessings and peace be upon him. The cloud would cover it by day, and the fire would illuminate it by night and shine. As long as the cloud was covering it, they would remain. When it lifted from it, that was a sign for their journey.

What I understood from these places and others is that prayer among them is referred to as supplication and as an action that is merely prostration. If it is mentioned alongside something that indicates placing the face on the ground, then at that time it is called prayer. Otherwise, the intended meaning is merely bowing for the sake of reverence, and this is consistent with the language. It is said in the dictionary: 'Sajada' means 'to humble oneself'; and 'humility' is to bow down. As for the place where the mention of bowing occurs, it appears that its meaning is: the entire congregation prayed prostrating to Allah, glorified and exalted is He. This is because bowing in the language is used for meanings, among which is prayer. It is said: 'Rak'a' - meaning 'he prayed', and 'Rak'a' - if he bowed down in submission. The one who bows is the one who falls on his face. It is not correct to take the meaning of bowing at face value, as it is not possible in the state of prostration. If there is an interpretation made in it, it would not be more appropriate than what I have mentioned regarding bowing. And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows best. I have argued based on the language because the translator of the version that I have in the collection of eloquence is known from the contemplation of the places of his translation. I also asked about the prayer of the Jews now, and I was informed that there is no bowing in it. Then I saw Al-Baghawi (p-380) explicitly state in his interpretation of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And bow with those who bow' [Al-Baqarah: 43] that their prayer has no bowing in it, and likewise Ibn Atiyyah and others.

And when the purpose of mentioning these verses is to clarify the miracles that were for the family of Imran, namely Zakariya, Yahya, and 'Isa, and their mother, blessings and peace be upon them, for the purpose of arguing with the truth regarding the matter of 'Isa, blessings and peace be upon him. It clarifies that what was perplexing to them regarding him is not outside the perplexity of the miracles in his family. The response to each group is according to what they believe is more appropriate. Thus, it is necessary to mention that from the four Gospels currently present among the Christians: the mention of the story of Yahya, blessings and peace be upon him, in his conception, birth, and prophethood, and what occurred in that from the miracles of the Gospels. I have mixed between their words and made it one thing in a way that touches upon the beginning of the matter of the Messiah, blessings and peace be upon him. The translator states in the beginning of the Gospel of Luke: 'There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a priest, that is, a rabbi and imam, named Zakariya from the service of the family of Abijah. His wife was from the daughters of Harun, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before Allah, walking in all His commandments and ordinances blamelessly. And they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. While he was serving as priest before Allah in the order of his division, as was the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to burn incense when he went into the temple of Allah. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zakariya saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zakariya! Your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Yahya. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.' And Zakariya said to the angel, 'How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.' And the angel answered and said to him, 'I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of Allah, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. And behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place.'

{"translation": "And the people were waiting for Zakariya, wondering at his delay in the temple. When he came out, he was unable to speak to them. So they knew that he had seen a vision in the temple. He was gesturing to them and remained silent. When his days of service were completed, he went to his home. After those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept her pregnancy hidden for five months, saying: This is what the Lord has done for me in the days when He looked upon me to take away my disgrace among the people. And when she was in the sixth month, Gabriel, blessings and peace be upon him, the angel from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, was sent to a city in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man named Yusuf from the house of Dawud, and the name of the virgin was Maryam. When the angel entered to her, he said to her: Rejoice, O you who are full of grace! The Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and thought, saying: What is this greeting? The angel said to her: Do not be afraid, O Maryam! For you have found favor with Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and you will conceive and bear a son, and his name will be called Yasu. He will be great, and the son of the Most High will be called, and the Lord Allah will give him the throne of his father Dawud. He will reign over the house of Yaqub forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Maryam said to the angel: How can this be, since I do not know a man? The angel answered and said to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For nothing is impossible with Allah, glorified and exalted is He. Maryam said: Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Maryam arose in those days and went with haste to the hill country, to a city of Judah. She entered the house of Zakariya and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Maryam, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are you among women! And blessed is the fruit of your womb! How is it granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby leaped for joy in my womb. Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord! Maryam said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in Allah my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He

And when the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her. And when the eighth day came, they came to circumcise the child and called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. But his mother answered and said, "No, but he shall be called John." They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." So they made signs to his father, what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. And fear came on all who dwelt around them, and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him. Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Day Spring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" Now in the Gospel of Matthew: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" This is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'" And Mark wrote: It is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." Then he cried out, saying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord and make His paths straight." Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. And in Mark: John was baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And all the country of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. And he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!" And in Matthew: When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!" Then he agreed with Luke: "Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." So the crowds asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." And all the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not. John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry;" and Matthew said: "I am not worthy to carry His sandals;" and Mark said: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.\

This is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him: Who are you? He confessed and acknowledged that he is not the Messiah. They asked him: What then? Are you Elijah? He said: I am not. Are you the Prophet? He answered: No! They said to him: Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself? He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord - as said by the prophet Isaiah. As for those who were sent, they were from the Pharisees. They asked him: Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? John answered them: I baptize you with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know, (p-391) he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. This took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Luke said: As for Herod the tetrarch, John was rebuking him because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done. He added to this that he locked up John in prison. Mark mentioned that he had reported the signs that the Messiah showed: And King Herod heard of it, and he said: John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and because of that power he works. Others said: He is Elijah. And others said: He is a prophet like one of the prophets. But when Herod heard it, he said: I beheaded John; and in Matthew: At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants: This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and because of this power he works. Herod had (p-392) seized John and bound him and put him in prison. Mark said: And he imprisoned him because of Herodias, Philip's wife, for he had married her. And John said to him: It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And he heard him gladly. And on an appointed day, Herod gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl: Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you! And he vowed to her: Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom. She went out and said to her mother: What should I ask for? And she said: The head of John the Baptist. And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying: I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter. And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to refuse her. (p-393) So he immediately sent an executioner and commanded that his head be brought. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took the body and laid it in a tomb. Matthew said: And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, he departed from there by boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.