Commentary on the Quran (Chapter 3:47)
By: Mohammad Sobhanie
A Birth Without A Father
بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ ۖ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ اللَّهُ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ ۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ ﴿٤٧﴾
3:45 She said: “My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?” (The angel) said, “Such is Allah; God creates what God Wills. When God decrees a matter, God only says to it: ‘Be,’ and it is.
Commentary: The birth of a child begins with the fertilization of an egg inside the mother’s womb by a male sperm. The fertilized egg then develops into a fetus, which grows into a child after about nine months. Hence, when angels informed Maryam (SA) about the birth of Isa (AS), she was puzzled about how she could be pregnant without any human contact:
قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ ۖ ۚ… ﴿٤٧﴾
3:45 She said: “My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?”
Angels informed her that Allah (SWT) held the ability to create a child, or anything else, in any manner God chose. For example, the Qur’an states that Allah (SWT) created Adam (AS) and Eve (SA) without a father or a mother, and Prophet Yahya (AS) (John) was also born to a barren mother:
… قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ اللَّهُ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ ۚ … ﴿٤٧﴾
3:45 …(The angel) said: “Such is Allah (SWT); God creates what God Wills.”
The Verse ends with this statement:
… إِذَا قَضَىٰ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ ﴿٤٧﴾
3:45 …When God decrees a matter, God only says to it: ‘Be,’ and it is.
It is important to note that God does not have to speak the word “Be” for something to come into existence. When God Wills something into being, it will happen according to God’s plan. However, it may take time, like the nine months it takes for a fetus to fully develop in a mother’s womb.
Commentary on the Quran (Chapter 3:108-109)