Imran

'Imran is the father of Maryam (the mother of 'Isa). The Quran does not stage his life, but names 'the family of 'Imran' (Al 'Imran) among the families God has chosen (3:33) and designates Maryam as 'daughter of 'Imran' (66:12). His wife — Hanna, according to Ibn Kathir — dedicated to the service of the Temple the child she was carrying: it was Maryam.

The Quran names 'Imran three times (3:33, 3:35, 66:12). It does not recount his life, but places 'the family of 'Imran' (Al 'Imran) among the lineages God has chosen, alongside Adam, Nuh and the family of Ibrahim (3:33). This family gives its name to the third surah of the Quran.

His wife — Hanna, according to Ibn Kathir — made a vow: to consecrate to the service of the Temple in Jerusalem the child she was carrying, not yet knowing it would be a girl. When she gave birth, she named her Maryam and placed her and her descendants under God's protection against Satan (3:35-36).

Thus was born Maryam, 'daughter of 'Imran' (66:12), the future mother of 'Isa. According to Ibn Kathir, the mother of Maryam and the mother of Yahya (the wife of Zakariyya) were sisters: Yahya and Maryam were therefore cousins.

The name 'Imran is also, in tradition, that of the father of Musa and Harun (the biblical Amram). The 'Imran father of Maryam is, according to exegetes, a distinct person much later, who bears the same name — a name that recurs, as many names do. This is why the Quranic expression 'sister of Harun' applied to Maryam (19:28) is understood by exegetes not as kinship with Aaron the prophet, but as belonging to a lineage (the priestly lineage) or reference to a contemporary namesake. We report these explanations without adjudicating. The name of 'Imran's wife (Hanna) and the kinship between Maryam and Yahya come from Ibn Kathir's account (al-Bidaya), not from an explicit Quranic text.

The family of 'Imran illustrates how God chooses lineages of piety, and how a mother's sincere vow can give birth to one of the Quran's greatest figures: Maryam, then through her the prophet 'Isa.

En vérité, Allah a élu, parmi tous les hommes, Adam, Noé, la famille d'Abraham et la famille d'Imrân,

3:33

La femme d'Imrân dit un jour : « Je Te voue, Seigneur, l'enfant que je porte en mon sein. Veuille l'accepter de ma part, Toi qui entends tout et sais tout ! »

3:35

Et l'exemple de Marie, fille d'Imrân, qui sut préserver sa chasteté et que Nous avons récompensée en insufflant en elle de Notre Esprit. Elle crut en la parole de son Seigneur et en Ses Ecritures, et fut de ceux qui se soumettent humblement à Ses commandements.

66:12