سُوْرَةُ اٰلِ عِمْرٰنَ
Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 42
وَإِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَٱصْطَفَىٰكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَآءِ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ﴿42﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And (remember) when the angels said: "O Maryam (Mary)! Verily, Allâh has chosen you, purified you (from polytheism and disbelief), and chosen you above the women of the ‘Âlamîn (mankind and jinn) (of her lifetime)."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِذْ
wa-idh
And when
قَالَتِ
qālati
said
ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ
l-malāikatu
the Angels
يَـٰمَرْيَمُ
yāmaryamu
O Maryam
إِنَّ
inna
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
ٱصْطَفَىٰكِ
iṣ'ṭafāki
(has) chosen you
وَطَهَّرَكِ
waṭahharaki
and purified you
وَٱصْطَفَىٰكِ
wa-iṣ'ṭafāki
and chosen you
عَلَىٰ
ʿalā
over
نِسَآءِ
nisāi
(the) women
ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
l-ʿālamīna
(of) the worlds
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
42. 1. The honor and virtue of Maryam (علیہا السلام) is in relation to her own time, because in a Sahih hadith, Khadijah is also mentioned as the best among all women along with Maryam (علیہا السلام), and in some ahadith, four women are described as perfect: Maryam, Asiyah (the wife of Pharaoh), Khadijah, and regarding Aisha (رضی اللہ عنہا), it is said that her excellence over other women is like the superiority of tharid over all foods. (Ibn Kathir) And in the narration of Tirmidhi, Fatimah (رضی اللہ عنہا), the daughter of Muhammad ﷺ, is also included among the virtuous women. (Ibn Kathir) This could mean that the mentioned women are among those few women whom Allah Almighty granted excellence and greatness over other women, or that they possessed virtue in their respective times. And Allah knows best.
