Faasharat ilayhi qaloo kayfa nukallimu man kana fee almahdi sabiyya (surah Maryam: 29)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(19:29) (In answer to this) Mary merely pointed towards the infant. The people said, "How shall we talk with him, who is but an infant in the cradle" *20 ?

Fa ashaarat ilaih; qaaloo kaifa nukallimu man kaana fil mahdi sabiyyaa

*20) People who misinterpret the Qur'an translate this verse as: "How shall we talk with him, who is but a child of yesterday ?".They attribute these words to the elderly people of the Jews, who said years later, when Jesus was a grown up boy, that they could not have any useful dialogue with a mere kid. But the person who keeps the whole context in view, will realize that this interpretation is absurd and has been given merely to avoid the miracle. As a matter of fact, the dialogue took place when the people were condemning Mary who being unmarried, had brought forth a child, and not when the child had grown up into manhood. V. 46 of AI-i-`Imran (III) and v. 110 of Al-Ma'idah (V) also support the view that Prophet Jesus had uttered these words as a baby in the cradle and not when grown up. In the first verse, the angel while giving the good news of a son to Mary, says: "He will speak to the people alike when in the cradle and when grown up"; in the other verse, Allah Himself says to Prophet Jesus: ".......you talked to the people even in the cradle as you talked when you were grown up."