The family of Ibrahim includes Isma'il and Ishaq and their children. And the family of 'Imran includes Musa and Harun. Mahmoud, may Allah have mercy on him, said, 'The family of 'Imran includes Musa and Harun... etc.' Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: One of the reasons supporting this second opinion is that the surah names the family of 'Imran and does not elaborate on the story of 'Isa and Maryam in a manner simpler than its explanation in this surah. As for Musa and Harun, their story is not mentioned in this surah, which indicates that the 'Imran mentioned here is the father of Maryam, and Allah knows best. 'Imran is the son of Yasher. It is said that 'Isa and Maryam are the daughter of 'Imran, son of Mathan, and there is a gap of one thousand and eight hundred years between the two 'Imrans.

And the descendants are a replacement for the family of Ibrahim and the family of 'Imran, some of them from others, meaning that the two families are one lineage, some branching out from others: Musa and Harun are from 'Imran, and 'Imran is from Yasher, and Yasher is from Faheth, and Faheth is from Lawi, and Lawi is from Yaqub, and Yaqub is from Ishaq. Likewise, 'Isa is the son of Maryam, daughter of 'Imran, son of Mathan, son of Sulayman, son of Dawud. The saying 'son of Mathan, son of Sulayman, son of Dawud' means from his lineage. And the saying 'son of Yahuda' means from his lineage, as stated by Al-Fakhr Al-Razi. Abu Su'ud mentioned that there are about fifteen ancestors between Mathan and Sulayman, and nine ancestors between Eisha and Yahuda.

Included in the family of Ibrahim is the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said that some are from others in religion, as His saying, 'The hypocrites, both men and women, are from one another.' And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing; He knows who is worthy of selection, or He knows that some of them are from one another in religion. Or He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing regarding the words of the wife of 'Imran and her intention. And 'idh is in the accusative case.

It was said: with the implication of 'mention'. The wife of 'Imran is the wife of 'Imran ibn Mathan, the mother of Maryam the chaste, the grandmother of 'Isa, peace be upon him, and she is Hannah bint Faqudh. And His saying, 'when the wife of 'Imran said' follows His saying: '(and the family of 'Imran)', which supports that 'Imran is 'Imran ibn Mathan, the grandfather of 'Isa. The other saying supports that Musa is often mentioned alongside Ibrahim. If you say: 'Imran ibn Yashar had a daughter named Maryam who was older than Musa and Harun, and 'Imran ibn Mathan had Maryam the chaste, how do you know that this 'Imran is the father of Maryam the chaste and not 'Imran, the father of Maryam who is the sister of Musa and Harun?' I say: Enough is the guardianship of Zakariya as evidence that he is 'Imran the father of the chaste, because Zakariya ibn Aadhan and 'Imran ibn Mathan were contemporaries, and Zakariya married his daughter Ishaa, the sister of Maryam, so Yahya and 'Isa were cousins. It is narrated that she was barren and did not give birth until she became old. While she was in the shade of a tree, she saw a bird feeding its chick, and her heart yearned for a child and she wished for one. She said: 'O Allah, if You grant me a child, I dedicate him to Your service in the Sacred House, so he may be among its caretakers and servants.' She became pregnant with Maryam, and 'Imran died while she was pregnant, dedicating her child to the service of the Sacred House, with no hand in it, nor would I employ him or occupy him with anything, and this type of vow was legislated among them. It is narrated that they would make this vow, and when the boy reached maturity, he would be given the choice to fulfill it or not. And from Al-Sha'bi: '(dedicated)' means devoted to worship, and the dedication was only for boys. She based her statement on a condition, or she requested to be granted a male. When she gave birth to her, the pronoun refers to what is in my womb. [Mahrud said: 'The pronoun refers to what is in my womb... etc.' Ahmad said: 'The pronoun in His saying 'I gave birth to her' includes if it is attributed to her giving birth and femininity, for the state applies to her in terms of the general aspect, and that aspect is that it is something born not for the specific attribution of femininity to her. This discussion has already occurred in His saying: '(If there are not two men)'.] And it is feminine in meaning because what is in her womb was female in Allah's knowledge, or based on the interpretation of pregnancy or soul or spirit. If you say: 'How could a female be in the accusative case from the pronoun in 'I gave birth to her,' which is like saying 'I gave birth to the female a female?' I say: The original is: 'I gave birth to it a female,' and it was made feminine due to the femininity of the state because the state and its subject are one thing, just as the name is made feminine in 'What was your mother to the femininity of the news.' An example of this is His saying: '(If they are two)'. As for the interpretation of pregnancy or spirit, it is clear, as if it were said: 'I gave birth to the pregnancy or spirit a female.' If you say: 'Then why did she say: 'I gave birth to her a female' and what did she intend by this saying?' I say: She said it in sorrow. [[(He returned to his words) He said: 'And she intended by saying: 'I gave birth to her a female' sorrow and regret... etc.' Ahmad said: 'This interpretation is based on it being from the words of Allah, the Exalted, not a narration from her. The scholars of tafsir have mentioned another interpretation, which is that this saying of hers is narrated by Allah about her, meaning her saying: '(And the male is not like the female)' and it is indicated by the conjunction of her words with His saying: '(And I have named her Maryam...)' and they argue against this view that the analogy of it being from her words should be: 'And the female is not like the male,' for her intention was to diminish the female in comparison to the male, and the custom in such a case is to deny the inferior its resemblance to the complete, not the opposite. The matter in this regard has been varied, so I have not established what they said. Do you not see His saying: '(You are not like any of the women)'? He denied the complete its resemblance to the deficient, even though the completeness of the wives of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is established in relation to all women. And thus came the phrase 'the wife of 'Imran,' and Allah knows best. Also from it is: '(Is the one who creates like the one who does not create?)'.]] due to what she saw of the disappointment of her hope and the reversal of her expectation, she became saddened to her Lord because she had hoped and expected to give birth to a male, and that is why she dedicated him for service. And for her speaking in this manner out of sorrow and sadness, Allah, the Exalted, said: 'And Allah knows best what she gave birth to,' in honor of her situation and in ignorance of her regarding the greatness of what was bestowed upon her. Its meaning is: 'And Allah knows best the thing that she gave birth to and what is attached to it of great matters, and that He may make him and his son a sign for the worlds, while she is ignorant of that and knows nothing of it, and that is why she was saddened. And in the reading of Ibn Abbas: '(And Allah knows best what she gave birth to)' as a speech of Allah to her, meaning: 'You do not know the extent of this gift and what Allah knows of its great status and high rank.' And it was read:

She gave birth. This means: Perhaps there is a secret and wisdom from Allah, the Exalted, in this, and perhaps this female is better than the male as a consolation for herself.

If you say: What is the meaning of His saying, "And the male is not like the female?" I say: It is a clarification of what is in His saying, "And Allah knows best what she has given birth to," in terms of honoring the subject and elevating it. Its meaning is: And the male that you desired is not like the female that has been given to her, and the 'lam' in both is for specification. If you say: What is the connection of His saying, "And indeed, I have named her Maryam?" I say: It is connected to "I have given birth to a female," and what is between them are two intervening sentences, like His saying, "And indeed, it is a great oath if you only knew."

If you say: Why did she mention naming her Maryam to her Lord? I say: Because Maryam in their language means 'the worshipper.' [He returned to his words] He said: "And the benefit of her saying, 'And indeed, I have named her Maryam,' is that Maryam in their language means the worshipper..." Ahmad said:

As for the hadith, it is mentioned in the authentic books, agreed upon its authenticity, so there is no escape for him from suspending his words, blessings and peace be upon him, by imposing on him what he cannot bear, leaning towards a detachment in a philosophy derived from the darkness of atheism, some of which is above others. I have already presented, at His saying, "They do not stand except as one who is being touched by the devil from madness," what is sufficient. And I see the devil as nothing but a stab in the sides of the Qadarites until it has split them open, and a nest in their hearts until it has led al-Zamakhshari and others like him to speak in the Book of Allah, the Exalted, and the words of His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, with what they imagine, as he said in this hadith, then he looked at it with the imagination of Ibn al-Rumi in his poetry, audacity, and bad manners. If what he said were correct, this expression would have to be avoided, and if the crying were not real from the newborn, it could be conceivable that it was a representation. What is real and witnessed has no reason to be interpreted as imagination except for weak belief and the committing of a vile desire.

Thus, she intended by that to draw near and request from Him to protect her until her actions would correspond with her name, and that her assumption about her would be confirmed. Do you not see how she followed it with the request for protection for her and her child from the devil and his temptation? And what is narrated from the hadith, "There is no newborn except that the devil touches him when he is born, so he cries out from the touch of the devil upon him, except for Maryam and her son." [The compiler said: Allah knows best about its authenticity, thus he said. The hadith is in the two authentic books from the narration of Abu Huraira, at the end of it: Abu Huraira said: Read if you wish: "And indeed, I seek refuge with You and with my offspring from the accursed devil." ] So Allah knows best about its authenticity. If it is authentic, its meaning is that every newborn the devil hopes to tempt except for Maryam and her son, for they were both protected, and likewise everyone who shares their characteristics, as His saying, "I will surely tempt them all except Your chosen servants among them." And his crying out from being touched is an imagination and depiction of his desire for him, as if he touches him and strikes his hand upon him and says: This is one whom I will tempt, and similar to this imagination is the saying of Ibn al-Rumi:

"What the world announces to him from its changes... the crying of the child at the moment he is born."

Otherwise, what makes him cry from it when it is more spacious than what he was in and more abundant? When he sees the world, he cries out as if he is threatened by what he will encounter from its harm. Ibn al-Rumi says: The crying of the child at his birth is only due to what the world makes him feel of its events, and if it were not for that, what would make him cry from it, or what would make him cry from it, when it is the world? And it has been narrated: And indeed, he, the child, is in a more spacious place than he was in from the narrowness of the womb and more abundant than it. And returning to what makes him cry is distant or unsound. And it is possible that it refers to the known expanse of the world from the position, then he said: When he sees it, he cries out, as if he is threatened by what he will encounter from its harm before it occurs.

As for the reality of touching and poking, as the people of exaggeration imagine, this is not the case. If Iblis were given power over the people to poke them, the world would be filled with screams and cries from what he would test us with from his poking. So, her Lord accepted her, and He was pleased with her as a vow in place of the mention, with a good acceptance that has two aspects: one is that acceptance is the name by which something is accepted, like the administration of medicine and the act of cupping, for what is administered and cupped. This is His specification of her by establishing her in place of the mention in the vow, and no female was accepted before her in that, or that she was delivered from her mother immediately after birth before she grew up and was suitable for service. It has been narrated that Hannah, when she gave birth to Maryam, wrapped her in a cloth and carried her to the mosque. She placed her by the priests, the sons of Harun, who were in Al-Quds like the guardians in the Kaaba. She said to them: 'Here is this vow for you, so compete for her, for she is the daughter of your imam and the owner of your offering.' The sons of Matan were the leaders of the Children of Israel, their priests, and their kings. Zechariah said to them: 'I have more right to her, for I have her aunt.' [The saying 'I have more right to her, for I have her aunt' means his wife Ishaa, the sister of Hannah, but it was previously mentioned that she is the sister of Maryam. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said regarding Yahya and Isa that they are cousins. In Abu Su'ud, it was said in the interpretation of that that the sister is often referred to as the daughter of the sister, so the conversation proceeded on that basis. It was said that Ishaa, the sister of Hannah, is from the mother, and the sister of Maryam is from the father, because Imran married the mother of Hannah and she gave birth to Ishaa, then he married Hannah, his stepdaughter, and she gave birth to Maryam based on the permissibility of marrying stepdaughters among them.] So they said: 'No, until we draw lots for her.' They went—there were twenty-seven of them—to a river, and they cast their pens into it. The pen of Zechariah rose above the water, and their pens sank. So he took charge of her. The second aspect is that it could be a source with the assumption of the omitted addition, meaning: He accepted her with a good acceptance, that is, with a matter of good acceptance, which is the specification. It is also possible that the meaning of 'He accepted her' is that He received her, as you say: 'He hastened him' meaning 'He urged him,' and 'He pursued him' meaning 'He sought him out.' This is common in their speech, as one receives a matter when he takes it at its beginning and its vigor. Al-Qatami said: 'And the best of matters is what you receive from it... and it is not that you follow it as a pursuit.' [He means: The best of matters is what you anticipate and take at its first coming, and not the news that you endure until it passes you by and then you follow it and go after it to catch up with it. The 'ba' is extra in the news of 'not,' and it is on the assumption of an addition, meaning 'of the pursuit.' The pursuit: its origin is 'to pursue it,' from which the 'ta' of the present tense was omitted, or the 'ta' of the reflexive, or the 'ta' which is the root of the verb, and it is the most appropriate, because each of the first two has a meaning. Al-Jawhari said: 'The term following is used in place of pursuing.' It is a noun of the source, or a source from which some excesses were omitted. The reflexive is more emphatic than the active, so it must be intended here because it is confirmed.] And from it is the proverb: 'Take the matter at its beginnings,' meaning he took her at the first of her matter when she was born with a good acceptance. And He caused her to grow with a good growth, a metaphor for good upbringing that returns to her in all her states. And it was read: 'And Zechariah took charge of her,' with the weight of 'and he worked with her,' and 'Zechariah took charge of her' with a heavy 'fa' and the accusative of Zechariah.

And he took her to himself and made him a guardian for her and a guarantor for her interests. The reading of Abu is supported: 'And I will take care of her,' from the saying of Allah, the Exalted: (So he said: 'Take care of her for me'). Mujahid read: 'And her Lord accepted her,' and 'and He nurtured her,' and 'and He took care of her,' in the imperative form in the three actions, and he placed 'her Lord' in the accusative, calling upon that, meaning: 'So accept her, O her Lord,' and 'make Zakariya a guardian for her.' It is said that Zakariya built her a prayer niche in the mosque, meaning a room accessed by a staircase. It is said that the prayer niche is the most elevated of the gatherings and the foremost of them, as if she was placed in the most honorable place in Bayt al-Maqdis. It is said that their mosques were called prayer niches. It was narrated that no one entered upon her except for him alone, and when he left, he would lock seven doors behind him. He found provision with her that was her sustenance descending upon her from Paradise, and she never suckled from a breast. He would find with her winter fruits in summer and summer fruits in winter. 'How is it that you have this? From where do you have this sustenance that does not resemble the sustenances of this world and comes at an unexpected time while the doors are locked against you, with no way for anyone to enter to you?' She said: 'It is from Allah, so do not be surprised.' It is said that she spoke while she was small, just as Isa spoke while in the cradle. And about the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: that he was hungry during a time of drought [[Narrated by Abu Ya'la from the hadith of Jabir, and it is from the narration of Ibn Lahi'a from Ibn al-Munkadir about him. The text is evidently weak.]] Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, gifted him two loaves of bread and a piece of meat, which she preferred for him. He returned to her with it and said: 'Come here, O daughter,' and he uncovered the dish, and behold, it was filled with bread and meat. She was astonished and knew that it had come from Allah. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to her: 'How do you have this?' She said: 'It is from Allah; indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.' The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Praise be to Allah who made you resemble the leader of the women of the Children of Israel.' Then the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, gathered Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hasan, and Husayn, and all of his family, and they ate until they were full, and the food remained as it was. Fatimah then shared with her neighbors. 'Indeed, Allah provides' is part of the words of Maryam, may peace be upon her, or from the words of the Lord of Glory, the Exalted, as a speaker of 'without account,' without estimation for its abundance, or as a favor without reckoning and recompense based on merit.