سُوْرَةُ اٰلِ عِمْرٰنَ
Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 37
فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا ٱلْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقًا ۖ قَالَ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَـٰذَا ۖ قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ﴿37﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
So her Lord (Allâh) accepted her with goodly acceptance. He made her grow in a good manner and put her under the care of Zakariyâ (Zachariya). Every time he entered Al-Mihrâb to (visit) her, he found her supplied with sustenance. He said: "O Maryam (Mary)! From where have you got this?" She said, "This is from Allâh." Verily, Allâh provides sustenance to whom He wills, without limit."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
فَتَقَبَّلَهَا
fataqabbalahā
So accepted her
رَبُّهَا
rabbuhā
her Lord
بِقَبُولٍ
biqabūlin
with acceptance
حَسَنٍۢ
ḥasanin
good
وَأَنۢبَتَهَا
wa-anbatahā
and reared her
نَبَاتًا
nabātan
a rearing
حَسَنًۭا
ḥasanan
good
وَكَفَّلَهَا
wakaffalahā
and put her in (the) care
زَكَرِيَّا ۖ
zakariyyā
(of) Zakariya
كُلَّمَا
kullamā
Whenever
دَخَلَ
dakhala
entered
عَلَيْهَا
ʿalayhā
upon her
زَكَرِيَّا
zakariyyā
Zakariya
ٱلْمِحْرَابَ
l-miḥ'rāba
[the] prayer chamber
وَجَدَ
wajada
he found
عِندَهَا
ʿindahā
with her
رِزْقًۭا ۖ
riz'qan
provision
قَالَ
qāla
He said
يَـٰمَرْيَمُ
yāmaryamu
O Maryam
أَنَّىٰ
annā
From where
لَكِ
laki
for you
هَـٰذَا ۖ
hādhā
(is) this
قَالَتْ
qālat
She said
هُوَ
huwa
This
مِنْ
min
(is)
عِندِ
ʿindi
from
ٱللَّهِ ۖ
l-lahi
Allah
إِنَّ
inna
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
يَرْزُقُ
yarzuqu
gives provision
مَن
man
(to) whom
يَشَآءُ
yashāu
He wills
بِغَيْرِ
bighayri
without
حِسَابٍ
ḥisābin
measure
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
So her Lord accepted her graciously, and made her grow in a good manner, and entrusted her to the care of Zakariya. Whenever Zakariya entered her chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Maryam, where did this come to you from?" She replied, "It is from Allah. Surely, Allah provides without measure to whom He wills."
[40] Allah Almighty accepted the vow of the mother of Maryam ؑ and arranged for the physical and spiritual upbringing of Maryam in an excellent manner. When she reached the age of understanding and became capable of going to the mosque (place of worship), the question arose as to who would be her guardian and caretaker. This was because there were many priests in the Temple of Solomon, among whom was also Zakariyya ؑ. Ultimately, this honor fell to Zakariyya ؑ, because his wife was the real maternal aunt of Maryam ؑ, and this story is explained in detail further ahead.
[41]
Lady Maryam and the Sustenance from Allah:
The word "mihrab" does not refer to the place in mosques made for the imam to stand, but rather, "mihrab" referred to those upper chambers that were built adjacent to the mosque for the servants, custodians, and those who were devoted to the worship of Allah. Among these rooms, one room was given to Maryam ؑ, in which she used to remain engaged in worship. No one except Zakariyya ؑ was allowed to enter this room. Zakariyya ؑ himself used to bring food and drink for Maryam ؑ. Then it happened many times that when Zakariyya ؑ entered the room to give food, he found that food and drink were already present with Maryam ؑ. He was astonished that since no one except him could enter, who was bringing this food to her? When he asked Maryam ؑ, she replied without hesitation, "This sustenance comes to me from Allah. Beyond this, I know nothing." It should be clear that this verse is a clear proof of extraordinary events. Miracles occur at the hands of prophets and wonders (karamat) at the hands of the friends of Allah, and all of this happens only by the will and power of Allah. There were two things that caused Zakariyya ؑ to be astonished and amazed. One was that the food and drink he found with Maryam ؑ usually consisted of out-of-season fruits, and the other was that since no one except him could enter the room, who was bringing these fruits and other food items to Maryam ؑ?
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's View on Miracles:
Now, those who deny extraordinary events or miracles also face difficulty here, and a commentator of the Quran from our times, Sir Syed, very easily gets rid of such difficulties and simply calls such incidents dreams. He did the same in the incident of Uzair ؑ and has done the same here. Now the question is, if this was merely a dream, then what was Zakariyya ؑ astonished about, which led him to ask:
﴿ يٰمَرْيَمُ اَنّيٰ لَكِ هٰذَا﴾
Maryam! Where did you get this from or how did you get it? And also consider, are such commentators really commentators of the Quran or distorters of the Quran?
[40] Allah Almighty accepted the vow of the mother of Maryam ؑ and arranged for the physical and spiritual upbringing of Maryam in an excellent manner. When she reached the age of understanding and became capable of going to the mosque (place of worship), the question arose as to who would be her guardian and caretaker. This was because there were many priests in the Temple of Solomon, among whom was also Zakariyya ؑ. Ultimately, this honor fell to Zakariyya ؑ, because his wife was the real maternal aunt of Maryam ؑ, and this story is explained in detail further ahead.
[41]
Lady Maryam and the Sustenance from Allah:
The word "mihrab" does not refer to the place in mosques made for the imam to stand, but rather, "mihrab" referred to those upper chambers that were built adjacent to the mosque for the servants, custodians, and those who were devoted to the worship of Allah. Among these rooms, one room was given to Maryam ؑ, in which she used to remain engaged in worship. No one except Zakariyya ؑ was allowed to enter this room. Zakariyya ؑ himself used to bring food and drink for Maryam ؑ. Then it happened many times that when Zakariyya ؑ entered the room to give food, he found that food and drink were already present with Maryam ؑ. He was astonished that since no one except him could enter, who was bringing this food to her? When he asked Maryam ؑ, she replied without hesitation, "This sustenance comes to me from Allah. Beyond this, I know nothing." It should be clear that this verse is a clear proof of extraordinary events. Miracles occur at the hands of prophets and wonders (karamat) at the hands of the friends of Allah, and all of this happens only by the will and power of Allah. There were two things that caused Zakariyya ؑ to be astonished and amazed. One was that the food and drink he found with Maryam ؑ usually consisted of out-of-season fruits, and the other was that since no one except him could enter the room, who was bringing these fruits and other food items to Maryam ؑ?
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's View on Miracles:
Now, those who deny extraordinary events or miracles also face difficulty here, and a commentator of the Quran from our times, Sir Syed, very easily gets rid of such difficulties and simply calls such incidents dreams. He did the same in the incident of Uzair ؑ and has done the same here. Now the question is, if this was merely a dream, then what was Zakariyya ؑ astonished about, which led him to ask:
﴿ يٰمَرْيَمُ اَنّيٰ لَكِ هٰذَا﴾
Maryam! Where did you get this from or how did you get it? And also consider, are such commentators really commentators of the Quran or distorters of the Quran?
