His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity, and of the righteous." "She said, 'My Lord, how can I have a boy when no man has touched me?' He said, 'Thus Allah creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is.'"

His saying: "And He will speak" is a substitute for a state whose estimation is: "and a speaker," and that is connected to His saying: "and honored." The conjunction of the future verb with the subject noun is permissible due to the similarity between them, just as it is permissible to connect the subject noun with the future verb in the poet's words:

"I spent the night shading her with a sharp branch, He aims at her markets and the unjust."

And His saying: "in the cradle" is a state of the pronoun in "He will speak," and "in maturity" is a state connected to His saying: "in the cradle," and His saying: "and of the righteous" is a state connected to His saying: "and He will speak." This verse is a report from Allah, the Exalted, to Maryam; that her son will speak in his cradle with the people, a sign indicating the innocence of his mother from what a slanderer might accuse her of. The cradle is the place where the child lies during his upbringing. And He, the Exalted, informed about him that he will also speak to the people in maturity. The benefit of this - since the speech of the mature is known - is that it is a report to her of his life until the age of maturity. This is the saying of Al-Rabi' and a group of the commentators. Ibn Zayd said: The benefit of His saying: "and in maturity" is the report of his descent when he kills the Dajjal in maturity. The majority of people said: The mature one is he who has reached the age of maturity. Mujahid said: The mature one is the wise one, and this is an interpretation of maturity as a characteristic that is usually associated with it. People have differed regarding the limit of maturity; it has been said: The mature one is one who is forty years old, and it has been said: One who is thirty-five, and it has been said: One who is thirty-three, and it has been said: One who is thirty-two, and this is the limit of its beginning. As for its end, it is fifty-two, then he enters the age of old age.

And Maryam's saying: "My Lord, how can I have a boy?" is a question regarding the means of her pregnancy, and a wonder at being pregnant while she is a virgin. And "has touched me" means: has had intercourse with me, and touching refers to intercourse. And Maryam did not deny the touching of hands. The reference in His saying, the Exalted, "Thus" may be to this ability which is implied in the good news of the word, and it may be to the state of Maryam and her virginity. The explanation of these two interpretations has been previously mentioned in the matter of Zakariya, peace be upon him. The expression in the matter of Zakariya is "He does" and here it is "He creates" in terms of the matter of Zakariya being included in the possibility that is commonly recognized, even if it is rare. The story of Maryam is not commonly recognized at all; thus, the term creation is closer to invention and more indicative of it. It has been narrated that 'Isa, peace be upon him, was born after eight months, and therefore, one who is born without the usual means does not live for such a duration.

And His saying, exalted is He: "When He decrees" means when He intends to create it. The term "the matter" refers to one of the matters, and it is a source by which it is named. The pronoun in "for him" refers back to the matter, and the saying is in the context of addressing. Al-Makki said, and it is said: the meaning is that He says for its sake. This leans towards what we will mention from Abu Ali later.

The majority of the seven reciters read: "it will be" with the nominative case. Ibn Amer alone read: "it will be" with the accusative case. The reason for the nominative is that it is connected to "He says" or it is understood as: "so it will be." As for the reading of Ibn Amer, it is not directed because the previous matter is an address to the decreed, and His saying: "it will be" is an address to the informed. It is not like His saying: "Get up and do good to you," but its aspect is that it considered the verbal similarity in that the term of command is presented in the speech, as Abu Al-Hasan Al-Akhfash said regarding His saying, exalted is He: "Say to My servants who have believed, establish prayer" [Ibrahim: 31]. Indeed, it is the course of the response to the command even if it does not have a response in reality. Likewise, regarding the reading of Ibn Amer, His saying: "it will be" is like the response to the command even if it is not a response. Abu Ali went in this matter to say that the saying in it is not purely addressing, but rather it is a metaphorical saying, as he said:

The basin was filled and he said, "Qatni..."

And other than that, he said: because the non-existent is not something that exists, so it is not addressed as it is not commanded. Rather, the meaning is: "Indeed, it will be, so it will be." This is a tendency towards the Mu'tazila, may Allah have mercy on him and forgive him.