(O Muhammad), recite in the Book the account of Mary, when she withdrew from her people to a place towards the east; 16 and kept herself in seclusion from them, whereupon We sent unto her Our angel of revelation, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being. 17 (And when she saw him) she said: 'I take refuge in the Merciful from you! If you are fearful' 18 He said: "Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy 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 ۞ and in time she conceived him, and then she withdrew with him to a far-off 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 But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): "Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; 24 and shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee. 25 “Therefore eat and drink and appease your eyes; so if you meet any person then say, ‘I have pledged a fast (of silence) to the Most Gracious – I will therefore not speak to any person today.’” 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, your father was never an evil man, nor was your mother unchaste' 28 But she pointed towards him. "How can we talk to one," they said, "who is only an infant in the cradle?" 29 He Said: verily I am a bondman of Allah; He hath vouchsafed me the Book and made me a prophet. 30 And hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive, 31 He has made me dutiful toward my mother, and He has not made me arrogant or wicked. 32 And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive." 33 Such was Jesus, the son of Mary. That is the whole truth, about which they still dispute: 34 It befits not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son [this refers to the slander of Christians against Allah, by saying that 'Iesa (Jesus) is the son of Allah]. Glorified (and Exalted be He above all that they associate with Him). When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, "Be!" and it is. 35 Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord: Him therefore serve ye: this is a Way that is straight. 36 Then groups among them differed; so ruin is for the disbelievers from the witnessing of a Great Day. 37 How well they will hear and see on the day they come to Us! But the evildoers even today are in error manifest. 38 And warn them, [O Muhammad], of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded; and [yet], they are in [a state of] heedlessness, and they do not believe. 39 Behold, We alone shall remain after the earth and all who live on it have passed away, and [when] unto Us all will have been brought back. 40