The surah was titled after that name due to the following verse:
And mention,
[O Muhammad], in the Book [the story of] Mary, when she withdrew from
her family to a place toward the east. (Maryam 19:16)
Period of Revelation:
It was revealed before the Migration to Habashah (Abyssinia –
Ethiopia). We learn from authentic hadiths that Ja`far ibn Abi Talib
recited from the beginning of this surah to the verse forty in the court
of Negus when he called the migrants to his court.
Theme of the Surah
The central theme of this surah focuses on God’s oneness, rejecting
all concepts and ideas assigning a son or a partner to Him. It also
touches on the important issue of resurrection, intertwined as it is
with the concept of God’s oneness.
Is it Makki or Madani Surah?
Surat Maryam was revealed in Makkah. The content of this surah is
mostly about matters concerning the Hereafter, the end of the
evil-doers, the rewards of the good-doers, and part of the account of
the lives of Zakariyah (Zechariah), Maryam (Mary), Jesus, Yahya (John),
Abraham, Ishmael and Idris (Enoch).
Topics of the Surah
1- The surah explores its theme through several stories, beginning
with that of Zachariah and his son, John, and follows this with the
story of Mary and the birth of Jesus.
2- The surah mentions a part of Abraham’s story with his father,
followed by brief references to other prophets: Isaac, Jacob, Moses,
Aaron, Ishmael, Idris, Adam and Noah. These stories take up nearly
two-thirds of the surah, driving home the truth of God’s oneness,
resurrection, the non-existence of any children or partners with God.
3- The surah also includes some scenes of the Day of Judgment, some
arguments against those who deny resurrection, and a reference to the
fate of the unbelievers who deny God’s message, both in this life and in
the life to come.
4- The surah portrays a full range of reaction and feeling within the human soul as also within the universe around it.
5- The surah provides good examples of variations in cadence,
verse-endings and rhymes according to the subject being discussed and
the overall atmosphere.
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