The Guardianship of Mary

God nurtures individuals like Moses (a.s.) in the Pharaonic system: Although he grew up drinking his mother’s milk and spent the major part of his spiritual growth in the presence of the great prophet Shuʿayb with those divine tests, he spent some days of his growth in Pharaoh’s court, to witness firsthand the corruption, atrocities, and political struggles of Pharaoh’s people and gain the necessary preparation for fighting the Pharaonic forces. However, Mary (a.s.), who was to become the mother of a prophet like Jesus (a.s.) without a husband, deserved to be raised in a safe and spiritual environment by a worthy and divine person like Zechariah (a.s.): “and He charged Zechariah with her care.”

Note:

1. Guarantee (ḍamānat) and guardianship (kafāla) are two jurisprudential topics that have both commonalities and their own specific rulings.Guarantee pertains to property while guardianship pertains to persons, although each can be used in place of the other.

2. Guardianship (kafālat) is not limited to human children, as someone said in the presence of David (a.s.) that his brother had ninety-nine sheep and he had one sheep, yet he said to entrust the guardianship and care of that one sheep to him too: “Indeed this brother of mine has ninety-nine ewes, while I have only a single ewe, and [yet] he says, ‘Commit it to my care,’ and he browbeats me in speech”.(73)