Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 42 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:42

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَٱصْطَفَىٰكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَآءِ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

“And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allāh has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Angels told Maryam that Allah had chosen her, purified her, and chosen her again above the women of the worlds.

A reflection

Not on anyone's list

Every year a magazine publishes its list of the hundred most influential women in the world. Presidents, chief executives, film stars, founders. The list is argued over for weeks, and forgotten by spring.

Maryam would not have made any such list. She was an orphan, raised in a prayer chamber, unknown beyond the circle of the House. Yet angels came to her with a message from Allah. 'Allah has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of the worlds.'

Notice that the choosing is said twice. The commentators explain the repetition. A classical commentator says the first choosing was for her early life. Allah accepted her as a dedicated child though she was a girl. He freed her for worship, fed her from His own hand, and let her hear angels speak. Another classical commentator places the second choosing in what came later. She was given a son without a father, as no woman before her.

The lexicons picture the root of iṣṭafā as water left to stand until the silt has settled, and the clear part drawn off. Allah drew Maryam off like that, twice.

Here the ego meets a list it cannot campaign for. Human rankings reward visibility, power and wealth. Allah's choosing rested, as a classical commentator puts it, on her abundant worship, her detachment from the world and her purity. None of it was performed for an audience.

Does Allah need to announce whom He chooses? He needs nothing (35:15). The announcement is for us. It tells every woman and man where real honour is decided. The Prophet ﷺ named her the best of the women of her people, alongside Khadīja (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim). The magazine's list will be different next year. This one does not change.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.