书中讲述了玛利亚的故事：她离开家人，前往东方的一处地方，在那里与家人隔绝独居。我派遣我的天使到她那里，天使以一个相貌端正的人的形象显现在她面前。她说：“愿至仁主庇佑我，使我免受你的侵害。你若敬畏真主，就不要靠近我。”天使说：“我只是你主的使者，奉命赐你一个纯洁的儿子。”她说：“没有男人碰过我，我也不是淫荡的女人，我怎么会有儿子呢？”天使回答：“事情就是这样，你的主这样说：这对我来说很容易。我们要使他成为世人的一个迹象，成为我们施予的恩典。这是已经注定的事。”（第16-21节）
Relate in the book [the story of] Mary and how she withdrew from her family to a place in the east, where she kept herself in seclusion from them. We, then, sent to her Our angel, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being. She said: May the Most Merciful protect me from you. [Do not come near me] if you fear God.’ ‘I am but an emissary of your Lord,’ he said, [and have come] to give you a son endowed with purity. ‘She said: ‘How shall I have a child when no man has ever touched me and I have never been a loose woman?’ He answered: ‘Thus did your Lord speak: This is easy for Me. We will make him a sign for mankind and an act of grace from Us. It is a matter [We have] decreed.’ (Verses 16-21)
这是第一幕:玛利亚是一位年轻的处女,是一位圣女。她的母亲在她还是腹中胎儿时就许愿,要她侍奉于圣殿。从未有人见她有过任何不纯洁或不贞洁的行为,人们甚至把她与圣殿中首位虔诚的侍奉者亚伦联系在一起。她的家族世世代代都以敬畏真主而闻名,是虔敬的典范。
This is the first scene: Mary is a young, virgin woman, a saint whose mother vowed, when she was still an unborn baby, that she would serve in the temple. No one had ever witnessed from her anything other than perfect purity and chastity. In fact people associated her with Aaron, the first of the temple’s devout servants. For generations, her family were renowned for being God-fearing and a model of piety.
我们看到这位年轻女子独自走开。这一章经文并未说明她为何想要独处，但她必定有某种缘由，使她需要一个人待着，不让任何其他人看见。这可能是女孩通常会遇到的一件十分私密的事情。
We see this young woman going off to be alone. The sūrah does not specify why she wanted to be alone, but there must have been something to so require her to be by herself, unseen by anyone else. It may have been a very private matter that girls normally experience.
一旦她独处，与众人隔绝，确信完全无人打扰，她便受到了极大的震惊。她看见面前站着一个正值壮年的男子："于是我派我的天使去见她，他以一个身材匀称的人形向她显现。"（第17节）
Once she is alone, screened from everyone and assured of complete privacy, she receives a great shock. She finds in front of her a man in his prime: “We, then, sent to her Our angel, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being.” (Verse 17)
她既震惊又不安，这正是一位贞洁处女的正常反应。
She is both shocked and shaken, which is only the normal reaction of a chaste virgin.
她的第一反应是寻求真主的庇护，并祈求祂的支持。
Her immediate reaction is to seek God’s protection and to appeal to Him for support.
她诉诸男子敬畏真主的意识。她提醒他真主，以使他克制，不去做任何恶事。于是她对他说："我求至慈的主庇护我，使我不受你的伤害。如果你敬畏真主，就不要靠近我。"（第18节）如果他是一个敬畏真主的人，那么只要听到真主的名字和祂的慈悯之德，他就会有所回应。他便会抵制任何邪恶的动机，克制自己的欲望。
She appeals to the man’s sense of fearing God. She reminds him of God so that he may be restrained from attempting anything evil. So she says to him: “May the Most Merciful protect me from you. [Do not come near me] if you fear God.” (Verse 18) Should he be a God-fearing person, he would respond to the mere mention of God’s name and His attribute of mercy. He would then resist any evil motive and restrain his desire.
我们可以想象这位年轻的女子，一位纯洁虔诚的处女，以及她在那一刻可能经历的情景：在她私密的所在，一位年轻男子突然出现在她面前，令她惊讶。这是她所受的第一次震惊。
We can visualize this young woman, a pure devout virgin, and what she might have gone through in that moment when she was surprised by a young man appearing before her in her place of privacy. This was her first shock.
然而,她得到的是怎样的回答呢?那人对她说了一句她绝不可能想象到的话:"'我只是你主的使者,'他说,'[来]赐给你一个纯洁的儿子。'"(第19节)当那位完美的人——她当时还不知道他是主派来的使者——对她说话时,玛利亚想必惊慌失措、震惊万分。在她看来,他可能是一个图谋不轨的侵害者,要利用她的纯真来欺骗她。然而,他在那个远离他人的僻静之处告诉她的,是他想赐给她一个孩子。
Yet what answer does she receive? The man tells her something she could never have imagined: “‘I am but an emissary of your Lord,’ he said, ‘[and have come] to give you a son endowed with purity.’” (Verse 19) We can imagine the panic and shock that must have overwhelmed Mary when that perfect man, whom she did not yet know to be an emissary from her Lord, spoke to her. For all she knew, he might have been an assailant playing a trick on her, exploiting her innocence. Yet what he tells her, in the privacy of that place, well away from others, is that he wants to give her a child.
玛丽亚该是多么震惊啊？我们根本无法想象。这是玛丽亚所遭受的第二次巨大的震惊。
How shocked must Mary have been? We cannot even begin to imagine. That is the second great shock for Mary.
她说:“我没有被任何男人触碰过,又不是淫乱的女人,我怎么会有儿子呢?”(第20节)现在她直截了当、坦率地对他说话。她独自与他在一起,他让她吃惊的原因也就清楚了。她还不知道他将如何使她怀孕。他自称是真主的使者,这也并没有让她更加安心,反而更令她忧虑。他说那孩子将是纯洁的,他的诞生和品行都不会沾染任何邪恶,这些话都不足以让她放心。在这种情形下,羞涩已完全不合时宜。她必须立刻把事情弄清楚。她是处女,从未被任何男人触碰过,那么她怎么可能有孩子呢?她并不是一个淫乱的女人,不会同意发生可能产生孩子的性行为。
“She said: How shall I have a child when no man has ever touched me and I have never been a loose woman?” (Verse 20) Now she speaks frankly and plainly to him. She is all alone with him, and the reason why he surprised her is now clear. She does not know yet how he will give her a child. Nor does it make matters any easier or less worrying for her that he has declared himself to be God’s emissary. Nothing that he says about that child, stating that he will be pure and that nothing evil will be attached to his birth or moral conduct, is sufficient to reassure her. It is a situation where modesty is completely out of place. She must have the matter out and clear at once. How, then, could she have a child when she is a virgin, untouched by any man? She is not a loose woman about to agree to a sexual act that could produce a child.
由此可见，在此之前，她无法想象除了男女之间通常的性接触之外，还有什么途径能让那人使她怀孕。根据人类的常规认知，这是自然的方式。
Her questioning in this fashion suggests that up to that moment she could not conceive of any way by which that person could give her a child except the familiar way of sexual contact between a male and a female. This is the natural way, according to human perception.
“他回答说：你的主如此说：那对我来说是容易的。我们要让他成为人类的一个迹象，并成为我们施予的一份恩典。”（第21节）玛丽甚至无法想象的这一奇迹事件，对真主而言是容易完成的。他拥有那种对任何事物说“有”，它便立即存在的大能。因此，万事对他都是容易的，无论是依照人所熟悉的自然法则完成，还是以其他方式完成。在此处被称为“灵”的天使告诉她，正是真主说这对他是容易的，而且他希望这一独特而非凡的事件成为对全人类的一个迹象，向他们彰显他的大能和自由、不受束缚的意志。他还希望这个孩子首先成为以色列人的怜悯与祝福，此后成为全人类的怜悯与祝福。正是通过向他们展示这一奇迹事件，他们才认识他、信仰他、崇拜他，并努力求得他的喜悦。
“He answered: Thus did your Lord speak. That is easy for Me. We will make him a sign for mankind and an act of grace from Us.” (Verse 21) This miraculous event that Mary cannot even begin to imagine is easy for God to accomplish. His is the power that says to anything, ‘Be,’ and it immediately exists. Hence, everything is easy for Him, whether it is accomplished according to natural laws that are familiar to man or in some other fashion. The angel, who is referred to in this instance as ‘the Spirit’ tells her that it is God who says that it is easy for Him, and that He wants this unique and remarkable event to be a sign for all mankind, making clear to them His power and free, unshackled will. He also wants this child to be a mercy and a blessing to the Israelites in the first place and to all humanity thereafter. It is by showing them this miraculous event that they know Him, believe in Him and worship Him, seeking to earn His pleasure.
至此，这位可信的天使与圣母玛利亚之间的对话结束了。这一章并未提及那次对话之后发生的事，故事因此留下了空白，这在《古兰经》中屡见不鲜。但经文确实提到，天使对玛利亚所说的关于其子降生的事，是已经确定并定局的事。“这是［我］已决定的事。”（第21节）然而，此处并未提供任何关于其如何实现的解释。
Thus ends the dialogue between the trusted angel and the Virgin Mary. The sūrah does not mention what happened after that exchange, leaving a gap in the story, which frequently happens in the Qur’ān. But it does mention that what the angel said to Mary about the birth of her son is a matter that has been settled and finalized. “It is a matter [We have] decreed.” (Verse 21) But how? Nothing is mentioned here by way of explanation.
然而,我们在此可以提及"我的灵"这一表述的用法,它在本节和另一章中都有出现。在此节经文中:"于是我派遣我的灵到她那里,他便以一个形态端正的人的形象显现给她。"(第17节)在另一处语境中,这一表述如下:"还有伊姆兰的女儿麦尔彦,她保守了自己的贞洁,于是我把我的灵吹入她的体内。"(66:12)
However, we can refer here to the use of the phrase, Our Spirit, which is mentioned in this instance and in another sūrah. Here it occurs in the verse: “We, then, sent to her Our Spirit, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being.” (Verse 17) In the other context, the phrase occurs as follows: “And Mary, daughter of `Imrān, who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed of Our Spirit into her.” (66: 12)
现在的问题是，这两部经章中的指称是否指同一事物。依我们的理解，两处的所指似乎各不相同。在本章《麦尔彦》中，所指的是吉卜利勒（Gabriel），即圣灵，他是真主派遣到麦尔彦那里的使者。在第66章《禁戒》中，所指的是真主创造阿丹时吹入他体内的灵，借此使他成为一个人；真主又将这灵吹入麦尔彦，使她受孕。正是这种神圣的灵的吹入赋予了生命及其一切人性特征。这些特征包括使人能够与至高世界相接触的品质与能力，同时也赋予他人的情感、理智、思想、情绪与灵感。就麦尔彦而言，吉卜利勒将真主的这股灵气带来，并将其放入她的体内。不过我们还须补充一点：无论灵指吉卜利勒本身，还是指具有另一层含义的灵，我们都不了解它的本质。两者都属于超出我们感知范围的领域。我们只是尝试去理解两章中的相关经文，并认为这一用法在两种情况下各有不同。
Now the question arises as to whether the reference in these two sūrahs is to the same thing or not. From our point of view, the references would appear to be different on each occasion. In the present sūrah, Mary, it refers to Gabriel, the Holy Spirit, who was God’s emissary to Mary. In Sūrah 66, The Prohibition, it refers to the spirit that God breathed into Adam when He created him to make of him a human being. He again breathed of it into Mary to bring about her conception. It is this divine breathing of the spirit that gives life with all its human characteristics. These include the qualities and faculties that enable man to be in contact with the Supreme Society, while also giving him his human feelings, intellect, thought, emotions and inspiration. In Mary’s case, Gabriel carried this breath of the spirit from God to place it into her. We must also add however that we do not know anything about the nature of the spirit, neither when it refers to Gabriel himself, nor when it has a different connotation. Both belong to the realm which is beyond our perception. We simply try to understand the relevant text in the two sūrahs and consider that the usage differs in each case.
"然后她怀了他，便退到远方的一个地方。分娩的阵痛迫使她来到一棵枣椰树的树干旁。"
The story then continues, and we are shown the outcome of all this. We see this baffled virgin going through something much harder for her: “So she conceived him, and retired to a far-off place. And the throes of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree.
“[她在痛苦中]喊道：‘我真希望在此之前就死了，彻底被人遗忘！’”（经文22-23）这是玛利亚所遭受的第三次重大打击。
[In her anguish] she cried: ‘Would that I had died before this and passed into complete oblivion!’” (Verses 22-23) This was the third great shock Mary received.