Maryam 19:31–38

وَأَوْصَانِي بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ

"And has enjoined Sa1ah and Zakah upon me." - 19:31.

The word أَوْصَانِي is derived from the word وَصِیِّۃ (Wasiyyah) which normally means 'to bequeath', but when used in the context of issuing an order, it implies an emphatic command, and here it is used to put emphasis on a command of Allah. For this reason it is translated in the text as 'enjoined'. Here Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) has said that Allah Ta’ ala had commanded him to offer Prayers and give the obligatory charity (Zakah), the intention being that he was commanded to observe both these duties with great diligence. Prayers and Zakah are two forms of worship which have been enjoined as obligatory in the Shar` iah (Laws) of all the prophets from Adam (علیہ السلام) to the last of the Prophets, Muhammad ﷺ . However, their details vary in different codes. In the Shar` iah of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) prayers and Zakah were also made compulsory. It is true that ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was never wealthy; neither did he build a house for himself nor did he accumulate any material riches, then why was he enjoined to pay Zakah? The answer is that this injunction is of general application in that whosoever possesses a certain level of wealth (نصاب) is liable to pay Zakah. This injunction applied to ` Isa I as well i.e. whenever he acquired wealth upto the level of Nisab (نَصاب) he was required to pay Zakah, but if his wealth remains below Nisab throughout his life, he would never be liable to pay Zakah. This situation, therefore, is not in conflict with the general rules governing Zakah.

مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا

"As long as I am alive." - 19:31.

It means that the injunction of prayers and Zakah is forever i.e. as long as I live. It is obvious that the reference here is to the life in this world, because these duties can be performed only here in this world.

وَبَرًّ‌ا بِوَالِدَتِي

"and (He has made me) good to my mother." - 19:32.

Here only the mother is mentioned and not both the parents. Hence it is implied that his birth was a miracle, being without a father. Such a

discourse coming from an infant was a miracle by itself to prove his miraculous birth.

Commentary

ذَٰلِكَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْ‌يَمَ

"This is ` Isa, the son of Maryam." - 19:34.

The beliefs of the Jews and the Christians about Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) were on such opposite extremes that the Christians exalted him to such a level of reverence that they regarded him as the son of Allah. The Jews on the other hand, denigrated him maliciously and called him (God forbid) the illegitimate son of Yusuf (Joseph) the carpenter. Allah Ta` ala has pointed out the error of both the views in these verses and clarified the correct position.

The phrase قَوْلَ الْحَقِّ (translated in the text as 'the word of truth' in the normal reading is with fathah on the letter Lam (لَ ). In this case the sentence along with its understood words will run like اَقُولُ قَولَ الحَقِّ that is, 'I say the word of truth'. However, in some readings the letter 'Lam' in 'Qawl' is rendered with Dammah i.e. قَوْلُ الْحَقِّ. In this case the sentence will mean that Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہا السلام) himself was a word of truth. It is, then, analogous to the title of کَلِمَۃُ اللہِ (the word of Allah) which is given to him to denote that he was born directly by the word of Allah, having no connection with an apparent cause in this world. (Qurtubi)