47قالَت رَبِّ أَنّىٰ يَكونُ لي وَلَدٌ وَلَم يَمسَسني بَشَرٌ ۖ قالَ كَذٰلِكِ اللَّهُ يَخلُقُ ما يَشاءُ ۚ إِذا قَضىٰ أَمرًا فَإِنَّما يَقولُ لَهُ كُن فَيَكونُMuhammad AsadSaid she: "O my Sustainer! How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?" [The angel] answered: "Thus it is: God creates what He wills:1 when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be' - and it is.See 19:16-22 and the corresponding notes. In the context of the story of Mary in Al-'Imran, the announcement made to her, as well as the parallel one to Zachariah (verses 39-40 above), is meant to stress God's unlimited power of creation - specifically, in both cases, His power to create the circumstances in which His will is to manifest itself - and thus to bring about any event, however unexpected or even improbable it might seem at the time of the announcement.