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Page 1 of 5 Concerning the birth of Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and concerning the pregnancy of his blessed Mother Mary (peace and blessings of Allah be upon her) together with matters connected therewith…
Allah (exalted be He) says: “And remember Mary in the Book; when she went apart from her family towards a place in the East.” (Holy Qur’an 19:16) Those learned in the affairs of the Prophets say that (this was) three days after Mary had conceived Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon both of them) and Mary (peace be upon her) was at that time a girl of fifteen years, or some say of thirteen years. There was with Mary (peace be upon her) in the temple (at that time), among the devotees, her cousin on the paternal side, (a man) named Joseph the carpenter. He was a sweet-tempered man, a carpenter (by trade), who distributed alms from the labor of his hands. Now Joseph and Mary (peace be upon her) had a charge of keeping the sanctuary clean, and (it was their custom) when Mary (peace be upon her) had used up her water and Joseph his, each of them would take his vessel and go to the cave in which water was, fill up from it and return to the sanctuary.
Now when it was the day on which the angel Gabriel (peace be upon him) met her, it was the longest and hottest day of the year, she had used up her water, so she said, “Shall we not go together, O Joseph, and fill up?” He said: “I indeed have water enough to last me this day until tomorrow.” She said, “But I, by Allah, have not water.” Then she took her water pot and went on by herself till she entered the cave, and found by it Gabriel (peace be upon him). Now for her sake, Allah had given him the appearance of a perfect man. (Holy Qur’an 19:17)
She said: “I beg you refuge of the Most Affectionate from you if you are afraid of Allah.” (Holy Qur’an 19:18) He said, “I am only a Messenger of your Rabb (Lord), that I may give you a pure son.” She said, “From where shall I have a son, no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?” He said, “So it is, your Rabb (Lord) has said, this is easy to me, and that We make it a sign for the people and a Mercy from Us, and this sign for the people is already decreed.” (Holy Qur’an 19:18-21) When he said that to her she submitted to what Allah had decreed. So he breathed into the neck of her chemise, and she conceived Jesus (peace be upon him). Then she filled up her water pat and returned to the temple.
As-Suddi and Ikrima say that Mary (peace be upon her) used to remain in the temple as long as she was (virtually) pure. When her periods came upon her she would go to the house of her maternal aunt (to stay) till she was pure again, when she would return to the temple.
The first one to notice her pregnancy was her paternal uncle, her companion, Joseph, the carpenter. When he saw how it was with her he was amazed at it and found it shocking, but he did not know what to do about the matter. As often as he decided to suspect her (of evil) he remembered her piety, her acts of worship and her purity, and (the fact) she had not been absent from him a single hour. Yet whenever he decided to declare her innocent, he would noticed the signs of pregnancy that appeared in her. When this got to weigh to heavily upon him he spoke to her, and the way he began it was this. He said to her, “There is a matter concerning you (O Mary), that occupies my mind. I have striven to stifle it, but it is too much for me, so I have come to see that to speak about it would be easier for my breast.” She said, “Speak so long as it is kindly.” He said to her: “Tell me, Mary does a plan grow without a seed (being planted)?” “Yes,” said she. He said, “Then does a tree grow without (being watered by) the rain?” “Yes,” said she. He said, “Can there be a child without the participation of a male?” Said she, “Do you not know that Allah (Magnified and Majestic is He) caused the plant to grow on the day he created it, without any seed? So that the seed comes only the plant which He caused to grow without a seed. And do you not know that Allah (May He be Exalted) caused trees to grow without watering, and by decree made the watering to be the life of trees—after that He had created each one of them separately? Or do you say that Allah (Exalted be He) is not able to make the tree grow till he has sought aid from the water, so that had it not been for that (water), he would not have able to make it grow?” Said Joseph “I do not say this, but I say that Allah (Exalted be he) is able to do what He pleases. He says to a thing ‘Be!’ And it is.” (Holy Qur’an 2:117). So Mary (peace and blessings of Allah be upon her) said to him, “Do you not know that Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) and his wife without the (participation) of male and female?” “Assuredly,” said he. And when she spoke thus to him it entered his mind that maybe what (she was pregnant with) was from Allah, so that it was not proper for him to question her about it. This was confirmed by his noticing how reticent she was concerning it.
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