'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, exalted is He, said: ﴿And when the angels said, 'O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.'﴾ ﴿O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow.'﴾ Al-Tabari said: The operative word in 'when' is His saying: 'Hearing,' so it is a conjunction to His saying: ﴿When the wife of 'Imran said...﴾ [Aal 'Imran: 35]. Many grammarians said: The operative word in 'when' in this verse is an implied verb, the meaning of which is: 'And mention.' This is the more likely opinion because all these verses are indeed reports of the unseen that indicate the prophethood of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. The purpose of mentioning them is clearer in preserving the beauty of the speech. Abdullah ibn 'Umar and Ibn Mas'ud read: 'And when the angels said.' The interpreters have differed - is what is meant here by the angels only Gabriel, or a group of angels? The previous statement has addressed a meaning similar to it in His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And the angels called to him...﴾ [Aal 'Imran: 39]. And 'He has chosen you': It is derived from 'safa' which means to be pure, its form is 'ifta'al,' and the 'ta' was changed to correspond with the 'sad.' The meaning is: He has selected you for His obedience. And His saying, exalted is He: 'and purified you' means: from everything that would blemish women in creation, character, or religion, as said by Mujahid and others. Al-Zajjaj said: It has been reported in the interpretation that its meaning is: from menstruation and postpartum bleeding; and this requires a strong chain of narration, and I do not recall it.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And He chose you above the women of the worlds." If we make "the worlds" general for those who came before and after, we make the choice specific to the matter of 'Isa, peace be upon him, and that she was chosen to give birth without a male. If we make the choice general, we make His saying: "the worlds" specific to the world of that time. This was said by Ibn Jurayj and others. It has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "The best of the women of Paradise is Maryam, daughter of 'Imran, and the best of the women of Paradise is Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid." It has also been narrated from him that he said: "The best of her women is Maryam, daughter of 'Imran, and the best of her women is Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid." Al-Tabari and others went to the view that the pronoun in his saying: "the best of her women" refers to Paradise. Some people went to the view that it refers to this world, meaning every woman in her time. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The best of the women who rode camels are the righteous women of Quraysh, the most compassionate to a child in his youth, and the most caring to her husband in her own hands." Abu Hurairah, the narrator of the hadith, said: And Maryam, daughter of 'Imran, never rode a camel. This addition contains the unseen, so it cannot be interpreted that Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said it except by hearing from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The best of the women of the worlds are four: Maryam, daughter of 'Imran, Asiyah, daughter of Muzahim, the wife of Pharaoh, Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid, and Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad." Al-Tabari has narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to his daughter Fatimah: "You are the leader of the women of the people of Paradise, except for Maryam, daughter of 'Imran, the chaste." And he said: "Khadijah is preferred over the women of my nation, as Maryam is preferred over the women of the worlds."

And if you reflect on these hadiths and others that are similar in meaning, you will find Maryam in them to be advanced. Thus, it is reasonable to interpret the generality of the choice over the worlds generally as well. Some people have said that Maryam is a prophetess. Ibn Ishaq said: The angels would come to Maryam and say: "O Maryam, indeed Allah has chosen you" (the verse), and Zechariah would hear that and say: Indeed, Maryam has a great matter. From the addressing of the angels to her, this speaker has made her a prophetess, while the majority of people hold that no woman has been given prophethood.

And "be devout" means: worship and obey, as said by Qatadah and Al-Hasan. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Every act of devotion in the Qur'an means obedience to Allah." It is possible that its meaning is: prolong your standing in prayer, and this is the view of the majority, and it is appropriate in meaning to His saying: "And prostrate and bow." With this, Mujahid, Ibn Jurayj, and Al-Rabi' said, and Mujahid narrated that when she was addressed with this, she stood until her feet swelled. Al-Awza'i narrated that she stood until blood and pus flowed from her feet. It has been narrated that the birds would descend upon her head, thinking she was a statue due to her long standing.

(p-219) And Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: "Be devoted to your Lord" means: Be sincere to your Lord.

The interpreters have differed: Why did he place prostration before bowing? Some said: This was in the law of Zakariya and others among them. And some said: The 'and' does not imply a rank, but rather the meaning is: Do this and that. It is known that bowing comes before prostration, and this verse is more problematic than our saying: "Zayd stood and 'Amr (stood)" because the standing of Zayd and 'Amr does not have a known rank. This verse has been established that prostration comes after bowing, so how did the 'and' come in the opposite order? My saying regarding this is that Maryam was commanded with two parts and two signs from the signs of prayer, which are the length of standing and prostration. They were specified with remembrance due to their nobility in the pillars of prayer, as the servant draws near to Allah, the Exalted, at the time of his prostration. These two are specific to her prayer alone, otherwise, one who prays behind an imam is not told: Lengthen your standing. Then she was commanded - afterwards - to pray in congregation, so it was said to her: ﴿And bow with those who bow﴾. Here, a sign from the signs of prayer was intended, so that a word would not be repeated. And the verse did not intend the prostration and bowing that are encompassed in one unit of prayer. And Allah knows best.