19. Mary/Sayedah Maryam

I/We begin by the Blessed Name of Allah

The Immensely Merciful to all, The Infinitely Compassionate to everyone.

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a. Kaf. Ha. Ya. `Ayn. Sad.
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a. This is a narrative of the mercy of your Rabb - The Lord towards HIS servant, Zachariah.
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a. When he called out to his Rabb - The Lord in seclusion by the middle of the night,
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praying:
O ‘My Rabb - The Lord!
Indeed my bones have become weak within me, and my head is aflame with gray hair because of old age.
However - O My Rabb - The Lord - I have never been disappointed when calling out to YOU’ before –
- so do not disappoint me now.
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‘Now, I worry who will be the heir after me to fulfill their duties to the Temple of Solomon
for my wife has always been infertile.
So grant me out of YOUR Mercy an heir’ -
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- the one who will be my heir in my duty, and heir to the legacy of spiritual purity, divine knowledge, and Allah-consciousness of the House of Jacob;
and make him - O My Rabb - The Lord - the one with whom YOU would be pleased.’
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His prayer was answered:
‘O Zachariah!
Truly WE give you the happy news of the birth of a son.
His name will be Yahya/John the Baptist.
The uniqueness of the name is that WE have never assigned this name to anyone before.’
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Zachariah exclaimed with joy and surprise:
O ‘My Rabb - The Lord!

But how can I have a son while my wife has always been infertile, and I have already become frail because of old age?’

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He – the angel - answered:
‘So it will be!’
Your Rabb - The Lord says:
‘This is easy for ME.
Even as I created you before out of nothing’ - when you had been nothing.

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Considering his circumstances Zachariah wanted reassurance as to how and when the
fulfillment of promise will take place, he implored:
O ‘My Rabb - The Lord!
Give me a Sign’ as a mark of assurance.
The response came:
‘Your Sign for this is that you will not be able to converse with people for straight three nights and three days except by gestures, although being perfectly healthy, without any physical fault.’

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Then he came out from the sanctuary/place of prayer to his people, and gestured to them:
‘Praise and Glorify HIM by morning and by evening.’

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When the baby Yahya/John the Baptist was born and as he grew up to an age that enabled him to preach the Divine Message, WE commanded him:
‘O Yahya/John the Baptist!
Hold on to the Scripture firmly’ - in earnest!
And WE granted him sound judgment while he was still a boy in his early years.

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Furthermore, WE made him sympathetic to people as a mercy from US, and granted him
purity,
and he was truly devout and mindful of US in awe, reverence, and piety.

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and he was also dutiful towards his parents,
and was neither aggressive to anyone nor disobedient to his parents.

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So peace and blessings be upon him the day he was born,
and the day he will die,
and the day he is to be resurrected alive again.

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And relate the narrative of Mary – a young, saintly, virgin lady - through this Book.
When she isolated herself from her family to a place in the Temple, facing the east.

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Then she set up a screen to veil herself from them for spiritual meditation and solitude.

WE, then, sent OUR Ruh/Spirit - angelic messenger - to her, who appeared to her like a human being in all similarity.
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Mary seemed to have become shaken by a stranger’s sudden appearance in her place of seclusion, and in a panic she screamed:
Go away.
‘Surely I seek protection of The Immensely Merciful, against your evil designs.
Do not come near me if you have any fear of HIM’ and abstain from committing any evil.
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The angelic messenger recognized her panic and sought to calm her down by saying:
‘I am only an angelic-messenger of your Rabb - The Lord,
to bestow upon you a son, most pure.
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She was shocked and said:
‘How and from where can I have a son, when I am a virgin and no man has ever touched me,
and, also I am not unchaste?’
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The angelic messenger replied:
‘So it will be.’
Thus did your Rabb - The Lord say:
‘And this is a matter easy for ME.
WE shall do this, and you will have a son.
And it is to make him an Exemplary Symbol of Our Creative Power to the people as well as a mercy from US.
And this is matter already decided.’
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So in due course, she was pregnant with him,
then she withdrew with him to a distant place - far from her family, outside Jerusalem.
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And when severities of labor pains drove her to lean/cling to the trunk of a date-palm tree,
in her anguish she cried out:
‘Ooh! I wish I had died before this.
And I had been the one who was forgotten, completely’ long before all this.
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Then he – the angel - called her out from under her:
‘ Do not be distressed!
Your Rabb - The Lord has made a little stream to flow below you.’
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‘So if you shake the trunk of the date-palm tree towards you,
and it will drop on you fresh, soft, and ripe dates.’
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So eat fresh and ripe dates, and drink of fresh stream water, and feel comforted.
And if you happen to see any person and he/she asks you about your child, then abstain from conversing, and say by gesture, not words:

‘In fact, I have vowed a Fast to the Infinitely Merciful, so I will not speak today to any
person.’

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Then after she was healed of childbirth, she came back with him to her people, carrying him in her arms.
When they saw her with a baby boy – they were shocked and accused her of being unchaste
saying:
‘O Mary!
Indeed, you have come with an unprecedented/evil thing!’
You have a child without being married.

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‘O Sister of Aaron!
Your father was not a morally weak person, and your mother too was never unchaste!’
So how is it that you have this child?

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Thereupon she was speechless and pointed to him - the baby boy – signifying that they should speak to him.
They agitated and reacted angrily:
‘How can we speak to the one who is as yet in the cradle, an infant?’

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With allegations all around, baby Jesus spoke on his own:
‘Indeed, I am a Servant of Allah – the One and Only God.
HE has already decreed to give me knowledge of the Scripture and made me a Prophet.’

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‘And HE has made me blessed wherever I may be,
and HE has mandated me with the Salat/Prayer, and the Zakat/annual charity,
so long as I live.’

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‘And, likewise, made me be dutiful towards my mother,
and HE has not made me rebellious, wicked.’

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And peace and blessings be on me the day I was born,
and the day I die,
and the day I will be resurrected to life again.’

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This was Jesus, son of Mary.
A statement of truth about the nature of which they are in doubt and contest.

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It is not befitting for the Majesty of Allah to have a son.
Glory be to HIM.
Whenever HE commands a matter to be,
HE only says to it:
‘Be!’
and, then, it comes to be.

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And thus it was Jesus who always advocated:
‘And truly Allah is my Rabb - The Lord and your Rabb - The Lord.
So submit to HIM in worship, awe, and reverence.
That is the only Right Path.’

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Yet the various factions among the Jews and the Christians differ among themselves about Jesus: the former rejecting him, and the latter deifying him to the status of a worshipful entity.
So woe to all those who deny Jesus’ humanness and/or Prophethood,
when that Awful Time arrives and they appear before US.

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How well they will listen and how well they will see during the Awful Time when they appear before US - the truth that they had been hiding about Jesus will be made clear to them?
But this Time the unjust/wicked would be in clear loss.

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So warn them of the Time of Remorse and Regrets when the issue is going to be decided,
while they remain so oblivious, and not yet believing.

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In the end, however, it is WE WHO shall inherit the terrestrial world as well as whatever is on it.
And then they are going to be brought back to US for reckoning.

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And relate the narrative of Abraham through this Book.
He was certainly a person of truth and a Prophet.

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Abraham’s father - Azar - lived a life of sin and polytheism, the very thing which Abraham was assigned to demolish.
Remember when he said to his father:
‘O my dear father!
Why are you submitting in worship to something that can neither hear, nor see, and cannot
even be of any benefit to you?’

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‘O my dear father!
In fact, some Divine knowledge has come to me that has not come to you.
So follow me.
And I will guide you along a Right Path.’

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Abraham continued:
‘‘O my dear father!
Do not worship the Satan by becoming an instrument in his hand and following his instigation to worship idols.
In fact, the Satan has always been disobedient to the Infinitely Merciful.’

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Abraham wrapped up his appeal by saying:
‘O My Dear Father!
In fact, I fear that a suffering may befall you from The Immensely Merciful,
and, then you would realize in the Hereafter that you had actually become Satan’s companion’ in Hell.

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Abraham’s father was greatly upset and he threatened:
‘Are you drawing me away from my worshipful entities, O Abraham?
Should you not desist, I may in fact stone you.
So get yourself away from me’ before I punish you.

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Abraham listened patiently and replied courteously:
‘Peace be to you!
I will leave you but certainly seek forgiveness for you from my Rabb - The Lord,
for, indeed, HE is always Gracious to me’ and may accept my prayer for you.

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‘And I am going to leave you all, and whatever entities you call upon apart from Allah,
and I will call upon my Rabb - The Lord for your forgiveness,
and I trust that I will not be disappointed in the acceptance of my prayer to my Rabb - The Lord.’

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So when he had left them and entities of their worship, apart from Allah, and migrated to the Levant.
In time, WE rewarded him with sons Ishmael, Isaac and then grandson Jacob to compensate him for the loss of his upstream family.
And WE made each of them a Prophet.’

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‘And WE granted them of OUR Mercy,
and also granted them a true and high reputation in later generations.

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And now relate the narrative of Moses through this Book.
Indeed, he was devoutly sincere to the Religion of Allah,
and he was both a Messenger and a Prophet.

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And WE called out to him from the right side of the Mountain – Mt. Sinai,
and WE drew him near to us for a conversation.

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a. And WE granted him out of OUR Mercy his elder brother Aaron, also a Prophet to assist him.

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And relate the narrative of Ishmael - Abraham’s firstborn - through this Book.
Indeed, he was always true to his promise, and he was both a Messenger and a Prophet.

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And he used to motivate his family and people for
establishing the Salat/Prayers, and
paying out the Zakat/annual charity,
and he was the one favored and pleasing before his Rabb - The Lord.

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And relate the narrative of Enoch/Idris through this Book.
Indeed, he was a person of truth and a Prophet.

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a. And WE had exalted him to a high status.

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But then followed them successive generations who neglected the Salat/Prayers and pursued their lusts, whims, and passions -
and they will meet with their doom/destruction.

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Except for those who repent, and believe, and practice righteousness,
it is they who are going to enter the Paradise, and will never be treated unfairly.

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Theirs will be Gardens of Perpetual Bliss promised by the Immensely Merciful to HIS servants in the realm of the Unseen.
Truly HE, HIS Promise is to be fulfilled.

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They will hear nothing absurd or nonsense therein, just an environment of peace,
contentment and tranquility.
And they will also have therein whatever they need for their sustenance every morning and evening.

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a. That is the Paradise which WE are going to grant to those of OUR servants - as an inheritance - who have been devout.

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O The Prophet!
‘We – the angels - are not made to descend with Revelations on our own except by the
Command of your Rabb - The Lord,
To HIM belongs everything ahead of us, and everything behind us, and everything in between the two.

And your Rabb - The Lord is never forgetful.’

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HE is the ‘Rabb - The Lord of the celestial realm and the terrestrial world and everything in between and beyond them.
So submit to HIM in worship, awe, and reverence, and
remain steadfast in the face of distress and hardship in HIS worship and obedience.
Do you know of any other worthy of HIS Name?
No! HE alone is the Rabb - The Lord to be worshiped.

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And despite this, the denying person often wonders and says:
‘Is it that once I die, I will actually be resurrected in a new dimension of existence!?’

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a. But does the denying person not realize that it is WE, WHO created him before when he was nothing?

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So by your Rabb - The Lord - WE are definitely going to resurrect them to life again and
gather them together, as well as the satans/jinn,
and, then, bring them around the Hell on their knees.

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a. Then, WE will drag out from every group of sinful those who had been most rebellious against the Messages from The Immensely Merciful.

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a. Then, of course, WE Know best of those who deserve to be scorched in it - the Hellfire.

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And there is not a single person among you - the sinful - who will not be going by it - the
Hellfire,
that is decreed by your Rabb - The Lord - and it must be fulfilled.

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But WE are going to save those from the Hellfire who were pious,
even as WE are going to abandon the wrongdoers in it - Hellfire - on their knees.

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And whenever OUR Messages are recited to them in all their clarity, the well-to-do among
those who deny and belie say to those who believe:
‘Which of the two groups – you/believers or us/disbelievers - is better in social status, and superior as a community?’

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Let them say whatever they say.
But remain mindful as to how many generations WE have destroyed before them!
They were better in material riches and outward appearances/show of glitter than them.

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Say:
Whoever is astray, may the Immensely Merciful prolong his life until,

when they face what they were being warned of:
either suffering in this life,
or suffering at the Time of Final Judgment,
then they are surely going to realize which of the two groups - believers or disbelievers - was worse in position, and weaker in support/resources.

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And Allah increases in guidance those who seek to be guided.
And the things that last – like deeds, speech, and dealings of righteousness - are better with your Rabb - The Lord for reward and better for returns.

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Have you ever considered the type of a person who denies and belies OUR Messages and boasts:
Whatever you say, ‘I shall definitely be given abundant wealth and children’ - if I will be resurrected to a new dimension of existence

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While saying so, has he known the Unknown?
Or has he taken a promise from the Immensely Merciful?

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No!
WE are going to take a note of what he says,
and WE are going to increase the share of punishment for him.

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And WE will inherit from him what he is now speaking about, and
he will come to US, all by himself without his riches and family that were sources of his security in worldly life.

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And yet they take to themselves worshiping entities apart from Allah,
expecting that they will be a source of support for them in this life and intercession in the Hereafter –
so that they will be saved from Allah’s Wrath.

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No!
There is no one to prevent their being punished.
On the contrary, they will deny their worship of them, and
instead, they are going to take a stand against them.

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a. Have you not considered how WE let loose the satanic/evil forces upon the disbelievers to
repeatedly incite them to evil?

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So do not be in a hurry to seek Allah’s Punishment or demise for them:
WE are merely counting down for them their allotted time here as their doom is already decreed in the Hereafter.

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The Time will surely come when WE are going to gather the Allah-conscious before The Immensely Merciful - all in one delegation.

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a. And WE will drive the sinful to Hell - thirsty like a herd of cattle being driven to well.

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They will not have the power of intercession for them,
except for the one who has permission from the Immensely Merciful.

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And, moreover, they allege:
‘The Immensely Merciful has taken to HIMSELF a son.’

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a. Indeed, by this monstrous allegation you have uttered a hideous thing of blasphemy -

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it is as if the celestial realm might almost explode and rent into fragments,
and the terrestrial world burst and split asunder,
and the mountains crumble to pieces,

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a. for that people have ascribed a son to the Infinitely Merciful,

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a. while it is not befitting to HIS Majesty that the Infinitely Merciful should take a son to HIMSELF.

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Given that all existence in the Universe is submitting to Allah, and that HE has neither a son, nor a spouse, nor a partner,
there is no one, including Jesus son of Mary, in the celestial realm and the terrestrial world who will come to the Immensely Merciful except as a humble servant - in total worshipful submission.

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a. Indeed, HE has kept a count of them all/acts – and counted them exactly, one-by-one,

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and, during the Time of Final Judgment,
every one of them will appear before HIM alone.

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a. Surely those who believe and practice righteousness – for them the Immensely Merciful will show affection.

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Surely WE have made this Qur’an easy in your own language/idiom,
so that you may give good news with it to the ones who are Allah-revering,
as well as give warning with it to contentious people.

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And how many generations WE destroyed before them for their denial of OUR Messengers!
Do you find any trace of the existence of a single one of them now?
No!
Or do you hear even a whisper from them?
No. Not indeed!