Transliteration:( Fa ashaarat ilaih; qaaloo kaifa nukallimu man kaana fil mahdi sabiyyaa )
"Then Maryam pointed towards the child [47]. They said, 'How can we talk to someone who is a baby in the cradle?' [48]" (Kanzul Imaan Translation)
When accused, Bibi Maryam did not respond with words. Instead, she pointed toward her son, meaning:
"Ask this child."
She did so out of fear and awe, and in her emotion, forgot to speak the actual words.
They replied sarcastically:
"How can we speak to one who is just a baby meant for the cradle?"
While Hazrat Isa (on whom be peace) was actually in his mother’s arms, the expression "cradle" was used to mock her:
"Are you joking with us? Are we to speak to a child who can’t even talk yet?"
This reflected their disbelief and lack of understanding of the miracle about to unfold.
The tafsir of Surah Maryam verse 29 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Maryam ayat 27 which provides the complete commentary from verse 27 through 33.
(19:29) Thereupon Mary pointed to the child. They exclaimed: “How can we speak to one who is in the cradle, a mere child?”[20]
20. People who misinterpret the Quran 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. (Surah Aal-Imran, ayat 46) and (Surah Al-Maidah, ayat 110) 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.
20a. The words used are: “dutiful to my mother” instead of “dutiful to my parents”. This is another proof of the fact that Jesus (peace be upon him) had no father, and for the same reason he has been called Jesus son of Mary everywhere in the Quran.
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