سورة مريم

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Maryam (peace be upon her) looked at a hill and climbed it quickly, and suddenly on top of it was a palm tree that had no branches — and "al-jidh'" is the trunk of the palm tree — so she took refuge by it to lean on it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "The palm tree of Maryam (peace be upon her) [from which she was commanded to eat after giving birth to Isa (peace be upon him)] was ajwa (the best kind of date) and came down from the sky, so whatever grew from its root became ajwa, and whatever whose pit was taken from here and there and planted became lawn (an inferior date)."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): When she reached that palm tree, the pangs of childbirth overtook her, and she gave birth to Isa (peace be upon him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yahya ibn Abdullah said: We were in Hira, and I rode along with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). When we passed opposite a village above the water-barrier, as he came near the riverbank and reached the edge of the Euphrates, he said: "It is the very place." Then he dismounted and prayed two rak'ahs, and then said: "Do you know where Isa (peace be upon him) was born?" I said: "No." He said: "In this very place where I am sitting." Then he said: "Do you know where the palm tree was?" I said: "No." He stretched his hand behind him and said: "In this place." Then he said: "Do you know what al-qarar (the resting place) and al-ma' al-ma'in (the flowing water) that is mentioned in verse 50 of Surah al-Mu'minun are: وَ جَعَلْنَا ابْنَ مَرْیمَ‌َ وَ أُمَّهُ ءَایَةً وَ ءَاوَیْنَاهُمَا إِلیَ رَبْوَةٍ ذَاتِ قَرَارٍ وَ مَعِین [And We made the son of Maryam and his mother a sign, and We gave them refuge on a height, a place of rest and flowing water]?" I said: "No." [Pointing to the Euphrates] he said: "[The meaning of] it is the Euphrates." Then he said: "Do you know what al-rabwah (the height) is?" I said: "No." He pointed with his hand to his right and said: "This is the mountain that extends toward Najaf." And he said: "Maryam's (peace be upon her) pregnancy became apparent while she was in a place where five hundred virgin women were worshipping," and he said: "She carried him [in her womb] for nine hours, and when the pains of childbirth pressed upon her she went out of the mihrab and toward the house of a monastery they had. The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree and she gave birth; then she carried him and took him to her people, and when they saw Maryam (peace be upon her) they were terrified, and the Children of Israel differed about Isa (peace be upon him). Some of them said: 'He is the son of Allah,' and some of them said: 'He is the servant of Allah and His prophet,' and the Jews said: 'Rather, he is the son of a man.'"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Then they came upon her just as she had given birth and was saying: "Oh, would that I had died before this and been utterly forgotten." Allah the Exalted loosened the tongue of the Messiah (peace be upon him) so that it might be her excuse and make her proof manifest; and when this became apparent, the persecution and pursuit against the Children of Israel intensified, and the tyrants and taghuts pressed upon them, until the affair of the Messiah (peace be upon him) reached the point of which Allah the Exalted has informed.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): She gave birth to Isa (peace be upon him). When Maryam (peace be upon her) looked at the newborn, out of fear of people's accusation she said to herself: 'یا لَیْتَنِی مِتُّ قَبْلَ هذا وَ کُنْتُ نَسْیاً مَنْسِیًّا [Oh, would that I had died before this and had been a thing quite forgotten]; now what shall I say to my maternal uncle and what shall I say to the Children of Israel?'

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ کُنْتُ نَسْیاً مَنْسِیّاً [and had been a thing quite forgotten]; meaning, [I was] a lowly, abandoned thing.

Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him)... Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: '... Maryam (peace be upon her) gave birth to Isa (peace be upon him) upon this rock and prayed here.' Then he said: 'The land of Baratha — this is the house of Maryam (peace be upon her).'