Sūrah Maryam (Part 8)

Part 8 of observations on the structuring, organization and coherence of Sūrah Maryam

Last week we continued our observations on Sūrah Maryam (Mary, mother of Jesus). Remember, our work has already been published and is available for purchase, so please consider supporting our teachers and institution if you’ve benefitted from this blog.

We ended the previous post concluding the structural analysis of Section [A’] - Denying the True Reality. This week we’ll look at the integrative coherence of Section [A’] and also look back over the structure of the entire sūrah on a macroscopic level.

Integrative Coherence of [A’]

Besides being a coherent whole, Section [A’] also contains many anchors that establish connections back to the previous Sections.

For example, after stating that everyone will have to stand and witness Hellfire, Allah ﷻ says this is “an inevitability decreed (maqḍiyā).” When hearing this, the audience recalls the statement of the angel when he told Maryam that her pregnancy was “a matter [already] decreed (maqḍiyā).” This may suggest to the listener that, just as surely that Maryam got pregnant and gave birth, they will undoubtedly stand before Hellfire and witness their potential fate.

In Section [A’], Allah ﷻ says that He extends the lives and provisions of the disbelievers until they “see that which they were promised (yūʿadūna).” This recalls the promise (waʿd) of Allah ﷻ given in Section [B’] and the fulfillment of the promise (ṣādiqa al-waʿd) of Ismāʿīl in Section [C].

Here we also find the final mention of inheritance. Allah ﷻ says that He will inherit (narithu) all that man leaves behind when he dies, which is a callback to the inheritance Allah ﷻ said He would take at the end of Section [A], “No doubt We will inherit (narithu) the earth and all who are on it.”

Towards the end of the sūrah, Allah ﷻ says “There is no one in the heavens and earth (as-samāwāti wal-arḍi) but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant (ʿabdā).” This is very similar to what was said in Section [B’] when Allah ﷻ stated, “Lord of the heavens and the earth (as-samāwāti wal-arḍi) and whatever is between them - so worship Him (faʿbud-hu) and have patience for His worship (ʿibādati-hi).”

Finally, in the penultimate āyah of the sūrah, Allah ﷻ tells the Messenger ﷺ that He sent the Quran in their Arabic tongue to “give good news (litubashshira) thereby to the God-conscious.” This ties back to the miracle given to Zakariyyā when he was informed, “No doubt, We give you good news (nubashshiru-ka) of a boy named Yaḥyā.” This may be a way for us to understand the type of reaction we should have when hearing the Quran. The elation of an old man being surprised with a righteous son should be the type of emotion the God-conscious feel when they learn of the forgiveness, pardon, grace, mercy, reward, and Paradise from Allah ﷻ.

Holistic Coherence of Sūrah Maryam

When we first began our observations of Sūrah Maryam, we proposed the following ring structure to the entire sūrah:

Now that we have an appreciation of the content within each Section, we can better understand the connections between them.

Connections

[A/A’] - The sūrah begins with two stories of children being born with divine help. In each of those narratives there is a show of concern for the immediate future. Zakariyyā wants someone to inherit from him and carry on his legacy while Maryam wants to avoid any negative aspersions against her honor. The corresponding Section shows a complete lack of concern for the far future, that is, the Afterlife. The disbelievers are quoted again and again as having disregard for their next life, which leads to a lack of urgency in this life as well.

The final Section contains a passage that emphatically declares attributing a son to Allah ﷻ as a great blasphemy. This passage has the word, “son (walad)” repeated three times in quick succession. This usage of “son” may remind the audience of the only other usage of the word found outside of Section [A’], from the conclusion of Section [A], wherein Allah ﷻ appropriately states, “It is not appropriate for Allah to take any son (walad). He is perfect.”

[B/B’] - The story of Ibrāhīm and his father appears to be paired with the Section outlining the path to salvation. Just as Ibrāhīm gave his father irrefutable arguments and rationale for accepting Islam, Section [B’] clearly demonstrates the options one has when confronted with the choice between guidance and misguidance. Put another way, Section [B] tells us why we should accept guidance and Section [B’] tells us the outcome of that choice (or lack thereof).

[C] - At the center of this wonderful sūrah is the Section about our forefathers in monotheism. Of particular note is the repeated usage of “prophet (nabiyy)” that is used throughout this passage. By mentioning so many prophets together, each with their own unique and miraculous story, it helps to drive home the point that ʿĪsā is not a god. Recall that ʿĪsā described himself the same way when he introduced himself to the world as a “prophet (nabiyy).”

والله أعلم - And Allah knows best

Next week we will conclude our study of Sūrah Maryam with a look at the themes and motifs that tie the entire sūrah together.

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