50وَجَعَلنَا ابنَ مَريَمَ وَأُمَّهُ آيَةً وَآوَيناهُما إِلىٰ رَبوَةٍ ذاتِ قَرارٍ وَمَعينٍMuhammad AsadAnd [as We exalted Moses, so, too,] We made the son of Mary and his mother a symbol [of Our grace],1 and provided for both an abode in a lofty place of lasting restfulness and unsullied springs.2For my rendering of ayah, in this instance, as "symbol",. see surah 19, note 16. Jesus and his mother Mary are mentioned here specifically because they, too, had to suffer persecution and slander at the hands of "those who were bent on denying the truth".I.e., in paradise. The expression ma'in signifies "unsullied springs" or "running waters" (Ibn 'Abbas, as quoted by Tabari; also Lisan al-'Arab and Taj al-'Arus), and thus symbolizes the spiritual purity associated with the concept of paradise, the "gardens through which running waters flow".