At-Tahrim (The Prohibition)

12. And God Almighty has also set out the example of Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity against sins. Then, We breathed into her through Our Spirit and Jesus was born to her and testified to the truth of the Words of her Lord and the Scriptures and she was of the obedient to Allah.

The Arabic verbal form

ahsanat (“guarded her”), deriving from h-s-n, is cognate with hisn which denotes “stronghold, castle” and used concerning women connotes “chastity.” The blessed Verse in question enumerates four perfect qualities for Mary (as): chastity, blowing of Divine Spirit into her, testifying to the veracity of Scriptures, and absolute obedience to God Almighty.

According to Shi‘i and Sunni exegetic sources, there were four perfect women: Àsiya, Pharaoh’s wife; Mary (as), the daughter of ‘Imran; Khadija, the daughter of Khwaylid; and Fatima (as), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (S). The only woman whose name is attested in the Holy Qur’an is Mary (as) whose name is attested thirty four times in twelve Chapters and her name appears as the designation of a Qur’anic Chapter.

At any rate, the blessed Verse in question makes a reference to a noble woman who serves as a model for the believers, saying that God Almighty has set forth another example by making mention of Mary (as), the daughter of ‘Imran, who preserved her chastity and God Almighty breathed His Spirit into her and upon the Divine Command a son was born to her without having been married and her son was the Arch-Prophet Jesus (as).

The blessed Verse proceeds to say that she testified to the veracity of Divine Word and His Scriptures and believed in all of them and she was one of the obedient to Divine Command. She has an exalted rank in terms of faith and she believed in all Heavenly Books. She was obedient to Divine Command at all times in terms of deeds. She was a sacrificing servant and was attentive to Divine Commands.

The difference between Words (kalimat) and Books (kutub) may lie in the point that the latter makes a reference to all Scriptures revealed unto the Prophets (as) and the former alludes to the Revelations not recorded in Divine Books. Mary (as) believed in these Words and Books such that she is referred to as

“very truthful woman” (siddiqa)

in another Qur’anic Verse¹ :

“Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a very truthful woman [believing in the Words of Allah and His Books]. They both used to eat food. Behold how We make the Àyat (“Verses, proofs, Signs”) clear to them; yet behold how they are deluded away.”

At any rate, such Qur’anic expressions explicitly reflect Mary’s (as) chastity against the false claims of some of the corrupt and criminal Jews concerning her who put to question her character and even her chastity and thereby inflicts and severe blow upon them.

As mentioned above, the expression

“We breathed into her through Our Spirit” (fa-nafakhna fihi min ruhina)

is indicative of the Most Majestic and the Most Sublime Spirit.

According to another interpretation, the genitive inflection of the word

“Spirit” (ruhi)

is an instance of exalting genitive (idhafa tashrifiyya) connoting glory and exaltedness, in the same manner that the word

“House”

is intertwined with

“God”

in the genitive case in the compound form

“House of God” (baytu Allahi),

though God Almighty has neither a Spirit nor a House.

Finally, it is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S) as saying:

“The most exalted women in Paradise are: Khadija, the daughter of Khwaylid; Fatima (as), the daughter of Muhammad (S); Mary (as), the daughter of ‘Imran; and Àsiya, the daughter of Muzahim and the wife of Pharaoh.”2

It is narrated on the authority of ‘Imran ibn Hasin that the Noble Prophet (S) asked Fatima (as):

“Are you not happy to be the most exalted of the women of the world?”

She replied:

“What about the rank of Mary (as), the daughter of ‘Imran?”

He answered:

“O my beloved daughter! She was the most exalted of women in her times, but you are the most exalted of women in the world from the first to the last of them. By Allah Who appointed me as His Messenger, I gave you in marriage to one who is the lord of this world and the Hereafter. He is loved solely by the believing and he is disliked only by the hypocrites.”3

Hasan ibn Ziyad, the perfume vendor, narrates from Imam Sadiq (as) that the Noble Prophet (S) was inquired whether Fatima was the most exalted of women in her times.

He said:

“Mary (as) was the most exalted of women in her times and Fatima is the most exalted of the women of Paradise from past and present.4