Beside the Palm Tree

The next account, beginning at verse 16, is that of Maryam (peace be upon her), and this portion of it concerns the birth: her conception, her withdrawal, and the place where she gave birth.

Visitors to Bethlehem, to Bayt Laḥm, are shown the church which everyone visits. There is an account of a Muslim guide there who, once the others had left, observed that this is not the place where ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) was born, but a spot some miles distant — for it was not a cave, whereas the birthplace shown lies in a cave, underground, reached by a descent. The Qur'an, he pointed out, states plainly that it was beside a palm tree: