Holy Islamville

Concerning the Birth of Jesus (peace be upon him)

They say that when Mary (peace be upon her) drew heavy with child and her confinement grew near, Allah (Exalted be He) spoke to her by revelation, (saying) “The temple at Jerusalem is one of Allah’s houses, which He has purified and exalted, so that in it His name must be remembered. Therefore, go forth to a place in which you may take refuge.” So Mary (peace be upon her) went to the house of her maternal aunt, the mother of John the Baptist (peace be upon him). When she entered John’s mother stood up welcoming her and embracing her. The wife of Zachariah (peace be upon him) said, “O Mary (peace be upon her) do you notice that I am pregnant?” Mary (peace be upon her) answered, “And you also, do you notice that I am pregnant?” Said the wife of Zachariah (peace be upon him) “Verily I feel what is in my womb doing obeisance to what is in they womb.” This is what (is meant by) Allah’s saying: “Confirming a word from Allah.” (Holy Qur’an 3:39) While she was staying in the house of her aunt, Allah spoke to her by revelation (saying), “If you give birth among your people, they will reproach you and stone you, killing both you and your child, so depart from them.” (i.e., go away)

Al-Kalbi said that people (the Jews) said to her cousin Joseph, “Verily Mary (peace be upon her) has conceived a child by adultery, and the king is about to kill her, for her name has been given to him.” So Joseph fled with her carrying her on a donkey that he had, and there was nothing between her and the saddle of the donkey. Thus id Joseph journey with her until when he was nigh to the land of Egypt, far removed from the land of her people, the birth pangs overtook Mary (peace be upon her), causing her to repair quickly to the trunk of a dried up palm (Holy Qur’an 19:23). Now, that was in the wintertime.

Al-Kalbi says that while Joseph was in the way he desired to kill her, but Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to him and said to him, “It is of the Holy Spirit, so do not kill her.” The learned differ as to the length of the pregnancy of Mary (peace be upon her) and the time of her delivery of Jesus (peace be upon him). Some say that the time of her pregnancy was nine months like the rest of women. Some say eight months, others say six months, some, three hours, and others say just one single hour. Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) says that the fact is that she became pregnant and was delivered, and the departing (to an Eastern place) there was only a single hour, (and this we know) because Allah (exalted is He) says, “So she became pregnant with him and went apart with him to a remote place.” (Holy Qur’an 19:22) (i.e., far from people) Muqatil says that his mother conceived him in an hour, while the sun continued its daily course, she being (at the time) a girl of twenty years who had menstruated twice before she became pregnant with Jesus (on him be peace).

Some say that when the pangs came upon her she repaired to a palm tree, and it was a dried up palm tree without leaves or stumps of leaves or branches, and the angels surrounded her, encompassing her in ranks, i.e., encircling her. That palm tree was in a place called Bethlehem. When the travail began she cried, “Would that I had died ere this, and became forgotten, quite forgotten.” (Holy Qur’an 19:23), i.e., a corpse cast out. Then she was called: “Do not grieve! Thy Rabb (Lord) has sent beneath thee a rivulet. So shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm tree, it will let fall on thee fresh ripe dates.” (Holy Qur’an 19:24,25) That is in accordance with what He (exalted be He) said.

Some say it was Gabriel (peace be upon him) who called to her from the foot of the mountain, while some say it was Jesus (peace be upon him) who, when he came forth from his mother’s womb, called to her, and by the permission of Allah (exalted is He), spoke to her. It is said that when she bore Jesus (peace be upon him), caused a rivulet of water to flow for her which was cool when she drank of it, but lukewarm when she used it (for washing).

‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Jesus (peace be upon him)—and some say it was Gabriel—beat the earth with his foot, whereat the water appeared and made the palm tree revive after it had been withered, so that it put form branches, became leaf, bore fruit and matured.

Mujahid (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Mary (peace be upon her) said, “When I was alone with Jesus (peace be upon him) I used to talk with him and he with me, and when anyone took my attention from it he would say prayers in my womb and I could hear him.”