*2. THE BEGINNING OF JESUS’ LINEAGE* The Quranic account of Jesus (pbuh) starts with the story of his grandmother, the wife of Imran. When she conceived Mary, she vowed to dedicate her unborn child to the worship of Allah and to the service of Bayt al-Maqdis. [Bayt al-Maqdis is the Islamic name for Jerusalem, especially for its place of worship, which was built many centuries before Moses (pbuh) and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times throughout history. After the death of Prophet Muhammad (bpuh), the second Islamic caliph, Umar ibn al-Khat-tab, ruled Palestine and built the Islamic mosque that remains in that location today.] Mary grew up to be very righteous. She dedicated herself to the service of Bayt al-Maqdis and to the worship of Allah, the Exalted, and she received provisions from Him. Therefore, it is no mystery as to why she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus (pbuh). The Quranic verses inform us: *{[Mention, O Muhammad,] when the wife of ‘Imran said: My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing. But when she delivered her, she said: My Lord, I have delivered a female-and Allah was most knowing of what she delivered-and the male is not like the female. I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah]. So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zachariah. Every time Zachariah visited her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said: O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you? She said: It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.}* (Quran 3: 35-37) It is interesting to note that when the mother of Mary delivered her child, she was a bit disappointed to discover that she did not have a son, because she had always wished for her child to be dedicated to the worship of Allah. Little did she know that this very child would be extremely righteous and would end up being the mother of Jesus himself. This was better for her than a son, hence Allah’s words: {…and Allah was most knowing of what she delivered…}