Hazrat Maryam Bint Imran سیرت حضرت مریم بنت عمران والدہ حضرت عیسیٰ علیہ السلام

Hazrat Maryam Bint Imran سیرت حضرت مریم بنت عمران والدہ حضرت عیسیٰ علیہ السلام
Maryam bint Imran.

Maryam bint Imran (may Allah be pleased with her) holds an exalted position in the history of Islam. She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Qur’an and there is an entire chapter named after her- Suratul Mayram.
The Quran has covered the birth of Maryam in Surah Al Imran’s verse 35 and 36. In Tafsir Ibn Kathir (one of Quran’s widely recognized interpretations), Ismail Ibn Kathir has elaborated on these two verses (through narrations from others) and provided information about Maryam’s parents. According to him, the name of Maryam’s father was Imran. He was an imam (prayer leader) in Bayt Al-Maqdis (Al-Aqsa site in Jerusalem.) Bayt Al-Maqdis at that time was under the care of the descendants of Prophet Harun (Aron), the brother of Prophet Musa (Moses). Imran was a very pious man and well respected by those who took care of religious affairs in Bayt Al-Maqdis. The name of Imran’s wife was Hannah bint Faqudh (Hannah daughter of Faqudh) (Kathir I. , Tafsir Ibn Kathir, p. 771).
According to Ibn Kathir, Hannah didn’t have any children before Maryam. One day, she saw a bird feeding its chick. Seeing that, her longing for a child grew intense and thus she made a sincere prayer to Allah to grant her an offspring. In that prayer she made a promise to Allah that if He gave her an offspring, she would dedicate her child to His worship and in taking care of the holy places in Bayt Al-Maqdis, free from all worldly affairs. Hannah’s prayers were accepted, and soon she became pregnant. The Quran narrates her response in the following verse: “O my Lord! I have vowed to you what (the child that) is in my womb to be dedicated for your services (free from all worldly work; to serve Your Place of worship), so accept this from me. Verily, you are the All-Hearer, the All-Knowing.” [Surah Al-Imran 3:35]
And after giving birth Hannah said (as narrated in the Quran): Then when she gave birth to her [child Maryam (Mary)], she said: “O my Lord! I have given birth to a female child,” – and Allah knew better what she brought forth, – “And the male is not like the female, and I have named her Maryam (Mary), and I seek refuge with you (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Shaitan (Satan), the outcast”. [Surah Al-Imran 3:36] After the birth of Maryam, Hannah decided that she would fulfill her promise and give the newly born child to the service of Allah. The Quran recorded this event in the following verse: “This is a part of the news of the Ghaib (unseen, i.e. the news of the past nations of which you have no knowledge) which We reveal to you (O Muhammad) You were not with them, when they cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be charged with the care of Maryam (Mary); nor were you with them when they disputed.” [Surah Al-Imran 4:44] Ibn Kathir explains the above mentioned verse by stating the whole story in detail as described below: Maryam’s mother left with Maryam, carrying her in her infant cloth, and took her to the rabbis from the offspring of Aaron, the brother of Prophet Moses. They were responsible for taking care of Bayt Al-Maqdis (the Masjid) at that time, just as there were those who took care of the Kaabah (in Makkah). Maryam’s mother said to them, “Take this child whom I vowed – to serve the Masjid, I have set her free, since she is my daughter, for no menstruating woman should enter the Masjid, and I shall not take her back home.” They said, “She is the daughter of our Imam, as Imran used to lead them in prayer, “who took care of our sacrificial rituals.” Zakariyya said, “Give her to me, for her maternal aunt is my wife.” They said, “Our hearts cannot bear that you take her, for she is the daughter of our Imam.” So they conducted a lottery with the pens with which they wrote the Tawrah, and Zakariyya won the lottery and took Maryam into his care. Ibn Kathir also gives an account of the lottery as follows: Rabbis went into the Jordan River and conducted a lottery there, deciding to throw their pens into the river. The pen that remained afloat and idle would indicate that its owner would take care of Maryam. When they threw their pens into the river, the water took all the pens under, except Zakariyya’s pen, which remained afloat in its place. Zakariyya was also their master, chief, scholar, Imam and Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be with him and the rest of the Prophets. Thus, Maryam came under the guardianship of Prophet Zakariyya (Zechariah).