UNDERSTANDING WHO WAS MARYAM (ALAYHAS SALAAM)

The Mother of Maryam (alayhas salaam)

Her name was Hannah. Her husband’s name was ‘Imran who is the father of Maryam. When she fell pregnant, she took a vow that when she gives birth to the child she will keep him free for the service of the masjid. That is, she will not allow him to get involved in any worldly activity. She was under the impression that she will give birth to a boy because only a boy can be of service to the musjid. At that time, vows of this nature were permissible. When the time of delivery of the child came, she gave birth to a girl. Out of sadness she said: “O Allah! I have given birth to a girl.” She was informed that this girl will be better than boys and that Allah has accepted her. She kept the name of this child Maryam and made a du‘a to Allah that He should protect her and her progeny from shayt an. Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that shaytan torments every child that is born. However, he was unable to torment Maryam and ‘Eesa (alayhimas salaam).

After she was born, her mother took her to Baytul Maqdis in fulfilment of her vow. When she reached the musjid, she informed the pious servants over there to take her because she had vowed this child for the musjid. Because she was from a pious family, all the pious persons who were based in the musjid wanted to rear her and bring her up. Zakariyya was also amongst them. He was the uncle of Maryam. He therefore had a greater right of taking care of her. But because all the others were clamouring to take care of her, they all agreed upon a certain system to determine who will take care of her. Eventually, the lot fell in the name of Zakariyya (alayhis salaam). He took her and began looking after her. She began growing very quickly – much faster than other children of her age and very soon she appeared to be a grown up. From a young age she was very pious. Allah has referred to her as a wali in the Quran. It has also mentioned that she used to miraculously receive different types of fruit when it was not even the season to receive such fruit. Zakariyya (alayhis salaam) used to ask her: “From where are you receiving all this fruit?” She used to reply: “From Allah.” In short, her entire life was something to marvel about. When she became mature, solely through the power of Allah, she fell pregnant without any man touching her. It was from this pregnancy that ‘Eesa (alayhis salaam) was born. On seeing that she gave birth without a man, the Jews began accusing her of adultery. In order to prove them wrong, Allah gave ‘Eesa (alayhis salaam) the power to speak while he was still a baby. He spoke of such great things that all those who possessed a just and open mind agreed that this is an example of Allah’s power; that he was in fact born without a father and that his mother was pure and innocent. Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has mentioned her piety by saying that from among the women, no one reached a stage of excellence except Maryam and Asiyah. We had quoted this Hadith in full when mentioning the life of Asiyah.

Lesson:
Look at the blessing of her pure intention in that Allah blessed her with a pious child and accepted her du‘a as well. We learn that Allah favoured her greatly. O women!

This is the blessing of pure intentions. Keep your intentions pure all the time. If you do any good act, do it for Allah alone. In this way, you will also be valued by Allah.Her mother had devoted her to Allah. She became very pious. She remained obedient to Allah to the extent that she became a wali. The blessing of this was that Allah saved her from the accusations of people.

O women! Continue obeying Allah and you will be protected from all calamities. Pay more attention to the Deeni affairs of your children and do not make them slaves of this world.