AND LO! The angels said: "O Mary! Behold, God has elected thee and made thee pure, and raised thee above all the women of the world. 42 O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow [in prayer]." 43 This account of something that was beyond the reach of thy perception We [now] reveal unto thee: for thou wert not with them when they drew lots as to which of them should be Mary's guardian, and thou wert not with them when they contended [about it] with one another. 44 When the angels said, "O Mary, your Lord gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honoured in this world and in the next and one of those who are granted nearness to God. 45 And he shall speak unto mankind from the cradle and in maturity; and be one of the righteous. 46 She said: "How can I have a son, O Lord, when no man has touched me?" He said: "That is how God creates what He wills. When He decrees a thing, He says 'Be', and it is. 47 God will give (Jesus) wisdom and teach him the Book, the Torah, and the Gospel. 48 "And (appoint him) a messenger to the Children of Israel, (with this message): "'I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah's leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe; 49 And a verifier of that which is before me of the Taurat and that I may allow you part of that which has been forbidden to you, and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord therefore be careful of (your duty to) Allah and obey me. 50 Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore, worship Him. This is the Straight Path"' 51 ۞ When Jesus perceived their unbelief he asked: "Who will help me in the way of God?" "We," the disciples answered, "shall be the helpers of God. We believe in God; and you be our witness that we submit and obey. 52 Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down and we follow the messenger, so count us among those who bear witness." 53 Then they schemed (against the Messiah), and Allah countered their schemes by schemes of His own. Allah is the best of schemers. 54