Surah Maryam

مريم

Surah 19 · Makki · 98 ayahs · Juz 16 · pages 305–312 · 6 rukus

Revealed: Makki
Ayahs: 98
Juz: 16
Mushaf pages: 305–312
Words: 961
Order revealed: 44th (according to Ibn Abbas)
Year: 5th year of Prophethood
Prophets named: Adam, Idris, Nuh, Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, Musa

About Surah Maryam (019)

The subject matter of this Surah is regarding the true message and teachings of the Prophets of Allah. Several Prophets are mentioned here:…

The subject matter of this Surah is regarding the true message and teachings of the Prophets of Allah. Several Prophets are mentioned here: Zakariyya, Yahya, Isa and his mother Maryam, Ibrahim, Musa, Ismail and Idris. Allah blessed these Prophets. They taught Tawhid and called their people to the worship of Allah alone. Great miracles and signs were also shown in the lives of these Prophets and Messengers.

The Surah is named after Maryam, the mother of Isa.

Allah’s Messenger ﷺis reported to have said, “Many amongst men attained perfection but amongst women none attained the perfection except Mary, the daughter of Imran and Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh. The superiority of Aishah to other women is like the superiority of Tharid (i.e., an Arabic dish) to other meals.”36 There are 98 Ayat in this Surah.

Bukhari no. 3769.

Sections

Prophet Zakariyah’s prayer for a son. Birth of Yahya and Allah’s favours upon him.
Maryam and the miraculous birth of her son Isa.
Prophet Ibrahim preached the unity of Allah. His conversation with his father.
The Resurrection will surely happen.
Criticism of misconceptions about intercession and the divinity of Isa.

This surah is published a ruku at a time — the Quran's own reading portion — so each page stays short enough to study properly. Pick where you want to begin.

The 6 rukus of Surah Maryam

Each ruku is a reading portion. This is what each one covers — click any line to open it.

Ruku	What it covers	Ayahs
1	The STORY of Zakariyya and the birth and youth of Yahya (John)	1–15
2	The STORY of Maryam; dialogue between her and the angel Response of the angel; The miraculous birth of Isa (Jesus) Maryam brought her baby (Jesus) to her people, and the baby spoke to his people in the cradle to defend his mother and proclaim his assignment to be their Prophet Isa (Jesus) is not the son of God, it is not befitting to the Majesty of God that He needs to beget a son	16–40
3	The STORY of Ibrâheem and his idol-worshipping father	41–50
4	The Prophethood of Musa, Isma`il and Idrees All prophets of Allah were Divinely Guided and chosen	51–65
5	Believers' and unbelievers' life in this world and their life in the Hereafter	66–82
6	No god other than Allah will be able to save you on the Day of Judgment and Those who say Allah has begotten a son, preach such a monstrous lie that even the heavens may crack, earth split and mountains crumble to pieces Allah has made the Qur'an easy for mankind	83–98

Themes of Surah Maryam (019)

Rahmah (mercy) of Allah. The name of Allah, ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful) appears the most in Surah Maryam compared to any other Surah of the Qur’an,…

Rahmah (mercy) of Allah. The name of Allah, ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful) appears the most in Surah Maryam compared to any other Surah of the Qur’an, occurring 15 times. Surah Maryam is full of the mention of mercy (20 times); example, Rahmah of Allah towards Zakariyah in blessing him with a child in old age, Maryam seeks protection in ar-Rahman when she sees the unknown Man, Jannah is promised by ar-Rahman and arRahman is one who bestows His Love on the Believer. The importance of the inheritance of the Din (religion) from parent to their descendants; Zakariyah to his son, Yahyah and Maryam to her son, Isa.

Also refer to (19:58).

Jesus Christ is not the Son of God and before introducing the story of Jesus and Mary, the birth of John the Baptist (Yahyah) to Zakariyah is mentioned to show how a figure of history living in the very era of Jesus was also a miraculous birth being born to very elderly parents. A number of Prophets are mentioned in this Surah and all of them are very familiar to Christians. This is to remind them that the underlying message all of them lived and preached was that of obedience and submission to the one true God. Hence, Christians are being invited to give up the belief in Trinity and accept and follow the unadulterated Tawheed (Oneness of God).

Key words of Surah Maryam

Arabic builds its words from a three-letter root; change the pattern around the root and the meaning changes with it. These are the roots this surah keeps returning to, and the words built on each — every word links to the ayah it sits in. More in the Grammar Guide.

Root	Times	Words in this surah
كون	43	أَكُنْI have been وَكَانَتِAnd is يَكُونُCan
قول	28	قَالَHe said قَالَتْShe said فَقُولِيThen say
ربب	23	رَبِّكَOf your Lord رَبَّهُTo his Lord رَبِّMy Lord
رحم	20	رَحْمَتِOf the mercy بِالرَّحْمَنِWith the most gracious وَرَحْمَةًAnd a mercy
يوم	13	يَوْمَThe Day وَيَوْمَAnd the Day الْيَوْمَToday
عبد	12	عَبْدَهُTo his servant عَبْدُA slave فَاعْبُدُوهُSo worship him
جعل	11	وَاجْعَلْهُAnd make him نَجْعَلْWe have assigned اجْعَلْMake
اتي	10	وَآتَيْنَاهُAnd we gave him فَأَتَتْThen she came آتَانِيَHe gave me
اله	10	اللَّهِOf Allah لِلَّهِFor Allah آلِهَتِيMy gods
ازز	2	تَؤُزُّهُمْInciting them أَزًّاWith incitement
حنن	1	وَحَنَانًاAnd affection
مخض	1	الْمَخَاضُThe pains of childbirth

Introduction and themes from The Qur’an Companion (Qur’an Wiki), Institute of Qur’anic Studies, reproduced unchanged. Key roots are their selection; every word, meaning and count shown here is from ILMHUB’s own Quran database.

Published 21 August 2026