Personal and Relative Selection

From the conversation of the angels with Mary (a.s.), one can clearly understand that Mary was one who was spoken to (muḥaddatha)(98).(99) It is not clear whether this conversation was from near or far, since the word of calling (nidāʾ) “O” is used in it. The first selection in this verse: “Indeed God has chosen you” is personal selection (iṣṭifāʾ nafsī); meaning this selection relates to the essence of Mary’s (a.s.) being, and the essence of Mary’s (a.s.) being was blessed with divine selection. Besides her, there were others who were also God’s chosen ones: “Indeed God chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of ʿImrān above all the nations”,(100) meaning this group as a whole is superior to all people of the world. Of course, this comes along with relative selection (iṣṭifāʾ nisbī) which will be discussed later.

Some of God’s chosen ones are superior to others, as the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) said: “Adam and all who came after him will be under my banner on the Day of Resurrection”.(101) The Qur’an also says about the differences between prophets (a.s.): “These are the messengers, some of whom We gave an advantage over others: of them are those to whom God spoke, and some of them He raised in rank, and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, manifest proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit”(102) “And We have certainly favored some prophets over others”.(103) Therefore, this verse which introduces Mary (a.s.) as God’s chosen one and the leader of the women of the worlds is in harmony with the traditions that introduce Fāṭima al-Zahra (a.s.) as the leader of the women of the worlds.(104)

Based on this understanding that the first selection is personal selection, “Indeed God has chosen you” means that God chose you from among the children of the prophets (a.s.); just as He says about Moses (a.s.): “I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed”,(105) although Moses, according to the verse “He said, ’O Moses, I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My speech’”,(106) had relative and comparative selection.

The second selection: “and has chosen you above the world’s women” is relative; meaning that God has chosen you from among the women of the world to become a mother without a husband.(107) Therefore, the second selection is not a repetition, but rather relative and due to Mary’s (a.s.) characteristic of having a child without a husband. Thus, this does not mean that Mary (a.s.) was superior to all women of the world in all aspects of knowledge and piety, as is the case with Fāṭima (a.s.).

Sometimes in such expressions, internal evidence shows that a specific era’s worlds (ʿālamīn) is intended, not all eras; like “And We gave him Isaac and Jacob and guided each of them. And Noah We had guided before, and from his offspring, David and Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses and Aaron—thus do We reward the virtuous— and Zechariah, John, Jesus and Ilyas,—each of them among the righteous— and Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah and Lot—each We graced over all the nations”.(108) This is because one cannot say that the superiority of each of these prophets (a.s.) over all people of the world is intended, since the names of most of the prophets of firm resolve (ulū l-ʿazm) and bearers of divine law are not in these verses, while the names of some of their followers are mentioned, such as Lot (a.s.) who was a follower of Abraham (a.s.): “Thereupon Lot believed in him, and he said, ‘Indeed I am migrating toward my Lord. Indeed He is the All-mighty, the All-wise’”.(109) Of course, if there is no evidence in a particular case, “worlds” (ʿālamīn) will be taken to mean absolute worlds.

Fakhr al-Rāzī considers the first selection to be related to the early childhood of Mary (a.s.), and the second selection to be about the period when she conversed with angels and finally had a child without having a husband.(110) He also understands “the world’s women” to mean all women of the past and future, not specifically the women of Mary’s (a.s.) era.(111)

Perhaps this misconception arose because Fakhr al-Rāzī considers “above the world’s women” to be related to both the first selection and as the object of the second selection, while according to the apparent meaning of the verse, “above the world’s women” is only related to the second selection. Yes, the final qualifier can refer to each of the preceding statements; however, in the verse under discussion, the qualifier relates to the last statement, as evidenced by the word “purified you” which refers to spiritual purification and does not require an object, and by being placed between the first selection and “above the world’s women,” it has severed their connection.

This point is also understood from the traditions. Exegetical works such as al-Mīzān and Majmaʿ al-Bayān that lean towards such a meaning have not mentioned this literary point.