Quran Garden

Session 372

Chapter 3

Verse 35

When Imran's wife said, "My Lord, I have vowed what is growing in my womb entirely to You, so accept this from me. You are the One Who hears and knows all." (Chapter 3: Verse 35)

The verse starts with the word "when," which implies "to remember."  For example, if I say to you, "When I came to visit you at the store, I gave you my phone," it means "Remember that I came to visit you at the store."  The word "when" can also be used to join two sentences together, such as in the phrase "Raise your hand when you're finished."

In the verse under study, the word "when" serves both meanings.  First, it means "Remember that Imran's wife said," and second, it joins verse 34 with verse 35.  Verse 35 ended with God being "the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing," and because Imran's wife's deeply believed that the Lord was listening, she supplicated, "My Lord, I have vowed what is growing in my womb entirely to You, so accept this from me. You are the One Who hears and knows all."

The phrase "entirely to You" is translated from the Arabic origin مُحَرَّرًا (muharraran), which means "free and not owned by anyone."  It is the same word used to describe a freed slave or an edited book ready for publishing.  But what was the reason behind Imran's wife's supplication?  We answer that, just like today, Imran's wife lived in an environment where people were proud of their children: they spent their lives raising them and planning their future, worked hard to bring comfort to them, and were proud of their accomplishments.  However, Imran's wife did not find all of this pleasing: she wanted to free the child in her womb from chasing after life's pleasures.  In other words, she did not want her son or herself as a mother to be preoccupied with other people's expectations and approval.  

But Imran's wife had even more in mind.  In the olden days, people could decide to vow a son to the service at the Temple.  Such a vow would continue as long as the parents had guardianship over the child or until he reached the age of maturity.  At that point, the son had the right to choose whether to continue serving at the Holy House -as his parents wanted- or to live his life as he wished.  Imran's wife did not wish for her unborn child to be a comfort for her eyes or to have to help her in her old age.  She wanted him to be free from all worldly obligations and completely dedicate himself to the Temple's service.  This necessitated her unborn child to be a boy because only males were allowed to serve the Holy House.

The verb "to vow," translated from the Arabic word نَذَرْتُ (Nuthr) means to make a promise to yourself or assign yourself the duty of a specific good deed beyond what God has obligated you with.  For example, you can vow to pray every night a particular number of prayers, which goes above and beyond the five obligatory prayers.  By vowing to pray more, you make it incumbent upon yourself to perform these extra prayers nightly.  You can vow to fast two days a week, which is above and beyond the obligatory fast during the month of Ramadan.  Similarly, you can vow to give 10% of your wealth rather than the required 2.5% Zakat almsgiving.  When you make a vow, it shows that you have tasted the sweetness of worship and want to get closer to your Lord.  It is an acknowledgment that Allah is worthy of far more than what He obligated you with.  Allah has been extraordinarily generous and merciful because, if He had imposed what He deserves from us, no one could have fulfilled His right.  He says:

Can He Who creates be compared to one who cannot create? Why do you not take heed? And should you attempt to count God's blessings, you could not compute them. God is indeed All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate. (16:17-18)

You have the freedom to make a vow or not, but keep in mind that a vow has to be of the same types of worship prescribed by God, such as prayer, fasting, Hajj, and so on.  Once you make one, it becomes an obligation.  Thus, it is wise not to get carried away and make a too difficult vow to abide by.  

Righteous people who have true knowledge of God say to those who violate a vow, "Didn't you find God worthy of your continuous love?"   No one among us has any doubts that God deserves deep affection.  Therefore, it is better to take your time and think deeply before making a vow. 

Imran's wife knew the sweetness of faith and wanted to extend that blessing to her unborn child.  So she continued her supplication with "accept this from me."  Acceptance means to approve something with pleasure, in contrast, to approve something reluctantly and out of obligation.  In the next verse, Allah responded to her prayers with, "Her Lord accepted her with gracious favor and blessed her with a good upbringing."

Imran's wife knew how to supplicate properly.  She called out "My Lord," translated from the Arabic ربي (Rubbi), not "Dear God" or "O Allah." Here you may ask, what is the difference?  We answer that the Lord is the Caretaker, the Provider, and the Protector.   Thus, calling to the Lord is calling to the One Who nourishes and provides, while the call to God is a call of worship and duties.  The wife of Imran said, "My Lord, I have vowed what is growing in my womb entirely to You, so accept this from me. You are the One Who hears and knows all."  And the response was "Her Lord accepted her with gracious favor and blessed her with a good upbringing, and entrusted her to the care of Zachariah." Allah spoke about a good upbringing in a nourishing environment under the care of a prophet: all these are gifts of Lordship.  Moreover, the word "gracious" indicates a higher level of approval because, while the word "accepted" gives us only a sense of approval with pleasure, "gracious" is definitely a step above.  In the next few verses, you will see how God's favors will manifest in this child's life for all the world to see till the end of time.