(O Muhammad), recite in the Book the account of Mary, when she withdrew from her people to a place towards the east; 16 She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent her our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. 17 When she saw him, she said, "I seek refuge in the compassionate God from you; [do not come near] if you fear the Lord." 18 He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. 19 'How shall I bear a son' she answered, 'when I am not touched by a human and not unchaste' 20 He said: even so! Thy Lord saith: it is with Me easy, and it is in order that We may make him a sign unto mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is an affair decreed. 21 ۞ So she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a remote place. 22 Then the birth-pangs drave her to the trunk of a palm-tree; she said: would that I had died afore this and become forgotten, lost in oblivion! 23 Then she heard the baby saying, "Do not be sad. Your Lord has caused a stream to run at your feet. 24 And shake toward thee the trunk of the palm-tree it shall drop on thee dates fresh and ripe. 25 So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.' " 26 Then she brought him (the baby) to her people, carrying him. They said: "O Mary! Indeed you have brought a thing Fariya (an unheard mighty thing). 27 O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man, nor was thy mother a loose woman!" 28 She pointed to the child. They said, "How shall we talk to someone who is a child in the cradle?" 29 [But] he said: "Behold, I am a servant of God. He has vouchsafed unto me revelation and made me a prophet, 30 He made me to be blessed wherever I am, and He has charged me with prayer and charity for as long as I shall live. 31 "(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; 32 And peace be on me the day I was born and the day I die and the day I shall be raised up alive. 33 Such is 'lsa, son of Maryam: this is the word of truth wherein they are doubting. 34 It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He but says to it 'Be,' and it is. 35 (Jesus only said:) "Surely God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the straight path." 36 Then the sects have differed among themselves; so woe to those who disbelieve in the witness of a Day Mighty! 37 How sharp of hearing, how sharp of sight they will be when they come to Us. But today, these evil-doers are obviously lost in error. 38 And warn thou them of the Day of Sighing when the affair shall have been decreed while yet they are in negligence and are not believing. 39 Indeed We shall inherit the earth and all that is on it, and only towards Us will they return. 40