۞

« compassion (ḥanān) from God, that is to say, he was given to be compassionate in nature (19:13), as well as pure, and that he was God-fearing. 2 In that, according to the commentaries, he was an upholder of the divine oneness (tawḥīd). 3 That is, according to MSS F638, f. 32b and F3488, f. 242b and the printed edition, with the verb m-ḥ-ḍ being taken in its meaning of ‘to be pure, unalloyed, untainted’. MS Z515, f. 70b, however, has muḥaṣṣana meaning guarded, protected. Either would be possible in this context. 4 These are words spoken by Jesus while still in the cradle. Thus he, like John, was endowed with the miracle of speaking »