What She Delivered

Amīn al-Islām Ṭabarsī (may God sanctify his soul) has written:

Ibn ʿĀmir, Abū Bakr from ʿĀṣim, and Yaʿqūb have recited “bi-mā waḍaʿtu” (“I delievered”) with a ḍamma on the tāʾ, while it has been narrated from ʿAlī (a.s.) and others as “waḍaʿat” (“she delivered”) in reported speech. Those who have read it with a ḍamma on the tāʾ consider it to be the speech of Mary’s mother, and those who have read it with a sukūn on the tāʾ consider it to be the speech of God.

The reading with a sukūn on the tāʾ is stronger, due to the phrase “and God knew better what she had delivered,” whereas if it were the speech of Mary’s mother, she would have said “You know better what I have delivered,” since she was addressing God.(37)

The definite article in “al-dhakar” (the male) and “al-unthā” (the female) is for specific reference: “al-dhakar” refers to the son that Mary’s mother was expecting, and “al-unthā” refers to Mary (a.s.).(38)

Uʿīdh (“I seek refuge”): ʿawdh means seeking refuge and clinging to another,(39) and iʿādha means giving refuge to another.

Al-rajīm (“the outcast”): rijām means stone, and rajm means throwing stones, which is used metaphorically for conjecture, assumption, cursing, and expulsion. Satan is rajīm, meaning outcast from all good things and blessings.(40)