“Then he called to her from below her, ‘Do not grieve; your Lord has placed a stream beneath you.’” (24)
Regarding “Then he called to her from below her”: Abu Ja‘far, Nafi‘, Hamzah, al-Kisa’i, and Hafs recited it as min tahtiha (“from beneath her”), with the mim and the ta pronounced with an i-vowel, referring to Gabriel, peace be upon him. Mary was upon a hillock, while Gabriel was behind the hillock, below her, and he called out to her.
The others recited it with the mim and ta pronounced with an a-vowel, meaning “the one beneath her,” likewise referring to Gabriel, peace be upon him: he called to her from the foot of the mountain.
It was also said that it was Jesus who, upon emerging from his mother’s womb, called to her: “Do not grieve.” This was the view of Mujahid and al-Hasan (1).
The first view is that of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, al-Suddi, Qatadah, al-Dahhak, and a group of others: the caller was Gabriel. When he heard her words and recognized her distress, he called to her, “Do not grieve.”
“Your Lord has placed a stream beneath you”: the sariyy is a small river.
It was also said that “beneath you” means that Allah placed it under your command: if you commanded it to flow, it would flow; and if you commanded it to stop, it would stop.
Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Gabriel, peace be upon him—and it is also said that it was Jesus, peace be upon him—struck the ground with his foot, whereupon a spring of sweet water appeared and flowed (2).
It was also said that there was a dry riverbed there, in which Allah caused water to flow; and the dried-up palm tree came to life, put forth leaves, bore fruit, and produced ripe dates.
Al-Hasan said: “A sariyy beneath you” means Jesus; and by Allah, he was a noble servant—that is, one of high rank (3).
(1) Ibn Zayd and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari preferred the interpretation that it was Jesus who called to her. Al-Tabari wrote in his Tafsir, 16:68: “The pronoun refers more directly to the nearest antecedent, namely Jesus, than to Gabriel; thus, it should be referred to the one to whom it is more appropriately referred, rather than to the more remote one. Do you not see the sequence in His statement, *fa hamalat-hu fantabadhat bihi makanan qasiyyan* (‘So she conceived Jesus and withdrew with him to a remote place’)? Then comes, *fa nadaha* (‘Then he called to her’), following the mention of Jesus and the account concerning him. There is another reason as well: His statement, *fa asharat ilayhi* (‘Then she pointed to him’). She would not have pointed to him unless she knew that he would speak at that time, on account of what she had learned and trusted from his addressing her: *alla tahzani qad jaala rabbuki tahtaki sariyyan* (‘Do not grieve; your Lord has placed a stream beneath you’). Allah did not report that he told her to point to him before the people. Had this been the statement of Gabriel, the apparent meaning of the report would have indicated that Jesus would speak and defend her before the people, and that Gabriel had commanded her to point to him when they asked her about her condition and his.”
(2) See: Tafsir al-Khazin, 4:197.
(3) Al-Tabari preferred the first view, writing in his Tafsir, 16:71: “In my view, the more correct of the two opinions is that of those who say that it means the small stream, for He informed her of the water Allah had provided for her and caused to be near her. He then said: *wa huzzi ilayki bijidh'i al-nakhlah tusaqit alayki rutaban janiyyan fa kuli* (‘Shake the trunk of the palm tree toward yourself, and it will cause fresh ripe dates to fall upon you; then eat’), ‘of these dates; *washrabi* (‘and drink’) of this water; and *wa qarri aynan* (‘and be comforted’) by your child.’ In Arabic usage, *sari* is known to mean a small river.” Prophetic reports have been narrated concerning this, but none is authentic. Nevertheless, this interpretation is closer to the correct view than the opinion that *sari* refers to Jesus, peace be upon him, although *sari* can also mean one of elevated rank. See: Al-Kafi al-Shaf, pp. 105-106; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3:118; Majma al-Zawaid, 7:54-55; Adwa al-Bayan by al-Shanqiti, 4:248-249.