Āl ʿImrān 3:42-44

Wa idh qālati'l-malāʾikatu yā Maryamu inna'llāha'ṣṭafāki wa ṭahharaki wa'ṣṭafāki ʿalā nisāʾi'l-ʿālamīn · Yā Maryamu'qnutī li-rabbiki wa'sjudī wa'rkaʿī maʿa'r-rākiʿīn · Dhālika min anbāʾi'l-ghaybi nūḥīhi ilayk, wa mā kunta ladayhim idh yulqūna aqlāmahum ayyuhum yakfulu Maryama wa mā kunta ladayhim idh yakhtaṣimūn

"When the angels said: 'Mary! God has chosen you and purified you, and chosen you above the women of all beings. · Mary! Be devoutly obedient to your Lord, prostrate yourself, and bow with those who bow.' · These are among the tidings of the unseen that We reveal to you. You were not with them when they cast their pens to see which of them should have charge of Mary; nor were you with them when they contended."

The verb occurs twice in the same verse, and the classical commentaries have dwelt on this repetition:

The classical explanations:

All three are transmitted. I do not impose a preference.

And the verb in the middle must be recorded: ṭahharaki — "purified you". The root ط-ه-ر: material and spiritual purity. The root was treated at 2/222 in al-Baqara and at 74/4 in al-Muddaththir.

The word order is worth recording: purification stands between the two choosings. I record this as an observation about the word order: the sentence proceeds choosing–purifying–choosing; that is, the second choosing is not a repetition of the first, for an operation stands between them.

Three commands, and their order must be recorded, because it is the reverse of the customary order of the prayer: bowing comes before prostration; here prostration is named first.

Two explanations of this are transmitted in the classical commentaries:

Both are transmitted. I do not impose a preference and I draw no legal conclusion from this.

ٱقْنُتِى — the root ق-ن-ت: a continuous and silent submission, a standing in one state. The root was treated at 33/31 in al-Aḥzāb and at 66/12 in al-Taḥrīm — and in al-Taḥrīm about this same person: wa kānat mina'l-qānitīn.

And the note maʿa'r-rākiʿīn is worth recording: "together with those who bow".

I record this as an observation: the first two commands are singular and solitary; to the third a note of being together is added. And al-rākiʿīn is a masculine plural. In the classical commentaries this is explained in the sense of "within the congregation". I transmit this and build no ruling on it.

The forty-fourth verse names a scene but does not narrate it: idh yulqūna aqlāmahum ayyuhum yakfulu Maryam — "when they cast their pens to see which of them should have charge of Mary."

The Qurʾān says nothing else about this scene: how many they were, how the pen was cast, who won — none of it. And in the classical commentaries various reports are passed on that fill this gap. Per the method (Method) those reports are not passed on in this commentary.

The verse's own sentence already says why the scene is named: dhālika min anbāʾi'l-ghaybi nūḥīhi ilayk — "these are among the tidings of the unseen that We reveal to you."

And the note repeated twice: wa mā kunta ladayhim — "you were not with them."

I record this as an observation about the word order: the sentence is repeated twice, for two separate scenes (the casting of pens, the contending). And the work of the repetition is to show the source of the knowledge. The detail of the scene is not given; what is given is where that detail does not come from.

يَخْتَصِمُونَ — the root خ-ص-م: to contend, to dispute at law. The root was treated at 38/64 in Ṣād (takhāṣumu ahli'n-nār) and at 36/49 in Yāsīn.

And there is a point that must be recorded: the verse describes contending over a good thing — over who is to look after the child. I give this as an observation: the sūra always uses the words ikhtilāf and tafarruq negatively (19, 103, 105); the word used here is a different one (ikhtiṣām), and its subject is the sharing out of a responsibility.