يَا يَحْيَى خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا ﴿۱۲﴾ وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا وَزَكَاةً وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا ﴿۱۳﴾ وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّا ﴿۱۴﴾ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا ﴿۱۵﴾ وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ مَرْيَمَ إِذِ انْتَبَذَتْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا مَكَانًا شَرْقِيًّا ﴿۱۶﴾ فَاتَّخَذَتْ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا ﴿۱۷﴾

﴾12﴿ Yaa Yahyaa khuzil Kitaaba biquwwatinw wa aatainaahul hukma sabiyyaa
﴾13﴿ Wa hanaanam mil ladunnaa wa zakaatanw wa kaana taqiyyaa
﴾14﴿ Wa barram biwaalidayhi wa lam yakum jabbaaran 'asiyyaa
﴾15﴿ Wa salaamun 'alaihi yawma wulida wa yawma yamootu wa yawma yub'asu haiyyaa
﴾16﴿ Wazkur fil Kitaabi Maryama; izin tabazat min ahlihaa makaanan sharqiyyaa
﴾17﴿ Fattakhazat min doonihim hijaaban fa arsalnaaa ilaihaa roohanaa fatamassala lahaa basharan sawiyyaa

﴾12﴿ [We said], O Yahya, take the Scripture with determination. And We gave him wisdom [and understanding of the religion] while yet a child
﴾13﴿ And compassion from Us and purity, and he was God-fearing
﴾14﴿ And dutiful to his parents, and he was not a disobedient tyrant
﴾15﴿ And peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he will be raised to life again
﴾16﴿ And mention in the Book [the story of] Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place facing the east
﴾17﴿ She screened herself from them, and We sent to her Our Spirit (Jibreel), and he appeared before her in the form of a well-proportioned man

[12] There is an omission in the wording for the sake of specificity, meaning Yahya (peace be upon him) was born and grew up, then he was addressed.
What is meant by “the Book” is the Torah, and the meaning is: strive to uphold and convey the Torah.
Then ten qualities of Yahya (peace be upon him) are mentioned.
The first is: “We gave him wisdom as a child”—ḥukm here refers to religious understanding.
It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that whoever recites the Qur’an before reaching maturity falls under this description.
In one narration, it is mentioned that once the children invited Yahya (peace be upon him) to play, and he replied, “We were not created for playing.”
[13,14,15] In these verses, the remaining nine qualities are mentioned.
“And peace be upon him”—this refers to the peace and safety granted by Allah, the Exalted.
These three states are mentioned because a person is extremely weak and in need of Allah in all three: at birth, at death, and at resurrection.
All of these qualities point to the servitude (ʿubūdiyyah) of Yahya (peace be upon him).
[16] This is the account of Maryam and Isa (peace be upon them), given in response to the doubts of the polytheists and Christians.
Their doubt is that many extraordinary and unimaginable things appeared through Maryam and Isa (peace be upon them), so it seems they must have power and the ability to fulfill needs.
The essence of the response is that Maryam displayed weakness and servitude—she sought refuge with the Most Merciful, she did not recognize Jibreel, she experienced labor pains, she wished for death, and she made a vow for the sake of the Most Merciful. All of these are signs of her weakness.
As for Isa (peace be upon him), he said: “I am the servant of Allah and a prophet. I am blessed, and I am commanded to worship. I am in need of Allah for peace and well-being.” He also said: “Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him.”
All these are proofs of Isa’s (peace be upon him) weakness and servitude. Therefore, they cannot be controllers of affairs or fulfillers of needs.
The command “and mention” refers to narrating the story of Maryam (peace be upon her) to remind people of the Oneness of God.
Her withdrawal to the eastern place was for worship—not because the eastern side had any special virtue; it was merely coincidental. However, the Christians fell into innovation and took that eastern location, the birthplace of Isa (peace be upon him), as a qiblah.
[17] Hijab is obligatory upon women; for this reason, she (Maryam) placed a screen for herself.
“Our Spirit” refers to Jibreel (peace be upon him).
“He appeared before her”—this is evidence that Allah, the Exalted, has granted the angels the ability to take human form.
Jibreel came in the form of a human because without assuming such a form, he could not appear before a human.
As for the interpretation that “the Spirit” refers to the soul of Isa (peace be upon him) and that he appeared in human form—this is not a correct view.
Ibn Kathir considered this view strange, rejected it, and labeled it as based on Israeli narrations.