BENEFIT: Maryam – The only woman explicitly named in the Qur’ān

Imām Al-Qurṭubi, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: «لم يذكر الله عز وجل امرأة وسماها باسمها في كتابه إلا مريم ابنة عمران، فإنه ذكر اسمها في نحو من ثلاثين موضعا، لحكمة ذكرها بعض الأشياخ، فإن الملوك والأشراف لا يذكرون حرائرهم في الملأ، ولا يبتذلون أسماءهن، بل يكنون عن الزوجة بالعرس والأهل والعيال ونحو ذلك، فإن ذكروا الإماء لم يكنوا عنهن ولم يصونوا أسماءهن عن الذكر والتصريح بها، فلما قالت النصارى في مريم ما قالت وفي ابنها، صرح الله باسمها، ولم يكن عنها بالأموة والعبودية التي هي صفة لها، وأجرى الكلام على عادة العرب في ذكر إمائها» "In the Qur'ān, Allāh, the Almighty, did not mention any woman by name except Maryam, the daughter of ’Imrān, whose name appears in about thirty instances. Some scholars have explained the wisdom behind this. It was customary among kings and noble figures not to publicly mention the names of their free women, nor to make them commonplace in speech. Instead, they would refer to them using terms such as 'wife,' 'family,' or 'household.' However, when speaking of female servants, they did not use such indirect terms and would mention their names explicitly without hesitation. Since the Christians made certain claims about Maryam and her son, Allāh explicitly mentioned her name rather than referring to her solely by her motherhood or servitude—both of which are attributes that apply to her. This aligns with the Arab custom of openly naming their female servants." [Tafsīr Al-Qurṭubi] #Quranbenefits #tafsir #Qurtubi #تفسير #القرطبي #القرآن