﴿أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ﴾
How can I have a child when no man has touched me? (Āl ʿImrān 3:47)
Lam yamsasnī is formally an imperfect in the jussive mood, but lam makes its denial concern the past. The wāw introduces a circumstance relevant to the speaker's question: a prior non-occurrence is used to express why the present prospect seems extraordinary. Its role cannot be judged by the imperfect form without considering the negating particle.
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Circumstantial Imperfect and Past Verbs: Rules for Wāw al-Ḥāl
﴿أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ﴾
How can I have a child when no man has touched me? (Āl ʿImrān 3:47)
Lam yamsasnī is formally an imperfect in the jussive mood, but lam makes its denial concern the past. The wāw introduces a circumstance relevant to the speaker's question: a prior non-occurrence is used to express why the present prospect seems extraordinary. Its role cannot be judged by the imperfect form without considering the negating particle.