Shake the Trunk of the Palm Toward You

In that moment of difficulty, Allah (swt) provided her with sakīnah. When things got to the level where it was unbearable for her anymore, then Allah (swt) brought her comfort and raḥmah. Allah (swt) says: fa-nādāhā min taḥtihā allā taḥzanī qad jaʿala rabbuki taḥtaki sariyyā. She heard a voice from beneath her — the mufassirūn say it's either Jibrīl or ʿĪsā — and this voice told her: lā taḥzanī, do not grieve. Qad jaʿala rabbuki taḥtaki sariyyā: your Lord has provided a water stream under you.

Wa huzzī ilayki bi-jidhʿi al-nakhlati tusāqiṭ ʿalayki ruṭaban janiyyā: and shake the trunk of the date palm towards you; it will let fresh ripe dates fall upon you. Allah provided her with water, and Allah provided her with dates — and it's a miracle from Allah (swt) that Allah provided her with this. A water stream was now suddenly flowing under her; she can reach it with her hands. And then Allah (swt) said: shake the palm tree, and fresh ripe dates will fall upon you.

Now, we learn from this some very important lessons. Number one: Maryam (peace be upon her) has just delivered a child; she is helpless, alone. And she is told, by ʿĪsā or by Jibrīl, to shake — not the branch of the palm tree, but to shake what? The jidhʿ, the base of the palm tree. And all of you know palm trees, and know how solid they are. If a group of men surround it and try to shake it at the base, it's impossible.

So what's the point in Allah (swt) telling Maryam: shake the base of a palm tree? She's not going to be able to shake it. She's not going to be able to even move it a fraction of an inch. Why is Allah (swt) telling her to shake it? Make an effort. She has to do her part. Allah (swt) could have made the dates fall on her without her shaking — because it's not the shaking, it's not the shaking of a palm tree that will make the fruit fall down. It is a karāmah from Allah. If you put your hands on a palm tree, don't expect any dates to fall on you. It's a karāmah from Allah.

Allah (swt) could have made the dates fall down without her intervention; but Allah (swt) wants her to do her part. And that's a very, very important lesson. If we want the victory of Allah (swt), we have to do our part. You have to take the first step. In mashayta ilayya harwaltu ilayk: Allah (swt) says in the ḥadīth qudsī, if you walk towards Me, I will run towards you. But you have to take the first step.

And Allah (swt) says: wa-lladhīna htadaw zādahum hudā — the ones who seek guidance, who look for it, Allah will give it to them. If you seek guidance, Allah will give it to you. If you wait there expecting things to come to you without any effort, nothing will happen. Allah (swt) does not reward the person for their laziness, procrastination and passiveness. Allah (swt) wants us to do our part. So Maryam (peace be upon her) put her hand on the palm tree, and these fresh ripe dates fell on her.

We also learn from this, in conjunction with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), that the best food for al-nufasāʾ, the woman who has just delivered — the best food for her is what? Dates. Dates are the best food for the woman who has just delivered a child, and this is also confirmed in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): they used to give al-nufasāʾ dates. Allah (swt) provided her with water, and provided her with dates: so eat, and drink, and be glad.