Tafseer Ibn Kathir of MARYAM [24]

24. Then he cried unto her from below her, saying: ”Grieve not: your Lord has provided a Sariy under you.'' 25. ”And shake the trunk of date palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you.'' 26. ”So eat and drink and rejoice. And if you see any human being, say: `Verily, I have vowed a fast for the Most Gracious so I shall not speak to any human being today.,'' (Who was below her) Meaning the one who was below her called to her. Others recited it as,

(from below her) With the meaning of a preposition (from) instead of a pronoun (who). The scholars of Tafsir have differed over the interpretation of who was calling out. Al-`Awfi and others reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said,

(Then cried unto her from below her,) ”This is referring to Jibrilbecause `Isa did not speak until she brought him to her people.'' Similarly, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak, `Amr bin Maymun, As-Suddi and Qatadah all said, ”Verily, this is referring to the angel Jibril.'' This means that he (Jibril) called out to her from the bottom of the valley. Mujahid said,

(Then cried unto her from below her,) ”This is referring to `Isa bin Maryam.'' Likewise, `Abdur-Razzaq reported from Ma`mar that Qatadah said that Al-Hasan said, ”This is referring to her son (`Isa).'' This is also one of the two opinions reported from Sa`id bin Jubayr -- that it was her son, `Isa, speaking. Sa`id said, ”Have you not heard Allah saying,

(Then she pointed to him.) Ibn Zayd and Ibn Jarir preferred this opinion in his Tafsir. Allah said,

(Grieve not:) He called to her saying, ”Do not grieve.''

(your Lord has provided a Sariy under you.) Sufyan Ath-Thawri and Shu`bah reported from Abu Ishaq that Al-Bara' bin `Azib said, s

(your Lord has provided a Sariy under you.) ”This means a small stream.'' Likewise, `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, ”Sariy means a river.'' `Amr bin Maymun held the same view, as he said, ”It means a river for her to drink from.'' Mujahid said, ”It means river in the Syrian language.'' Sa`id bin Jubayr said, ”Sariy is a small flowing river.'' Others said that Sariy refers to `Isa. This was said by Al-Hasan, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Muhammad bin `Abbad bin Ja`far, and it is one of the two opinions reported from Qatadah. It is also the view of `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. However, the first view seems to be the most obvious meaning. For this reason, Allah said after it,

(And shake the trunk of date palm towards you,) meaning, ”Grab the trunk of the date-palm tree and shake it towards yourself.'' Therefore, Allah blessed her by giving her food and drink. Then He said,

(It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you. So eat and drink and rejoice.) Meaning to be happy. This is why `Amr bin Maymun said, ”Nothing is better for the woman confined in childbed than dried dates and fresh dates.'' Then he recited this noble Ayah. Concerning Allah's statement,

(And if you see any human being,) This means any person that you see,

(Say: `Verily, I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious (Allah) so I shall not speak to any human being today.') Meaning, by signaling with gestures, not a statement by speech. This is so that she does not negate her oath itself,

(so I shall not speak to any human being today. ) Anas bin Malik commented on,

(I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious) He said; ”A vow of silence.'' Likewise said Ibn `Abbas and Ad-Dahhak. The meaning here is that in their Law, when fasting, it was forbidden for them to eat and speak. As-Suddi, Qatadah and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd have all stated this view. `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd said, ”When `Isa said to Maryam,

(Grieve not) She said, `How can I not grieve when you are with me and I have no husband nor am I an owned slave woman What excuse do I have with the people Woe unto me, if I had only died before this, and had been a thing forgotten and unknown.' Then, `Isa said to her, `I will suffice you with a statement,

(And if you see any human being, say: `Verily, I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious so I shall not speak to any human being this day.')' All of this is from the speech of `Isa to his mother.'' Wahb said the same as well.