10. PROPHETS’ DU’A (PRAYER) IN THE QUR’AN (5)
7. Zakariyyā (Zechariah) a.s.
Prophet
Zakariyyā (Zechariah) a.s. is
mentioned seven times by name in the Qur’an (Q.
3:37 (twice), 38; 6:85; 19:2, 7; 21:89). There is a book in the Old
Testament bearing this name, the Book of Zechariah, and was considered
to have been its author, but he was not the prophet meant here. There are
three prominent people in the Bible named Zechariah (or Zacharias), a. Zechariah, King of Israel[1],
b. Zechariah, the prophet[2],
and c. Zechariah, the priest, and the father of John the Baptist.[3] Therefore, when we mention Prophet Zachariah
to the Christians, we mean the priest and the father of John the Baptist. But when the Christians
mention Prophet Zechariah they mean the prophet from 520 BC to 518 BC in
Jerusalem.
Zakariyyā (Zechariah) a.s. was a
prophet, but in the Bible he was a priest attached to the Temple and a
carpenter. His wife Elisabeth (Luke 1:36) had a cousin called Mary, or she was her
maternal aunt (according to Ibn Jarir al-Tabari and Ibn Ishaq). Her mother had
vowed to dedicate her to Temple service. Lots were drawn to decide which of the
priests should have the responsibility to her and as her guardian, and the lot
was won by Zakariyya. Whenever he visited her in her place of worship in the
Temple he found her supplied with sustenance. According to Qur’an commentators,
he found her with the fruits of the summer during winter, and the fruits of the
winter during summer. We know that as winter in the northern part of the
hemisphere the southern part is summer, and vice versa.
Seeing
this miracle of having Maryam fruits out its season, Prophet Zakariyyā
(Zechariah) a.s. prayed for a child of his own, expecting that miracle
might also happen to him. By then he had become old and weak, his head was full
of grey hair, and his wife was a barren old woman. He prayed in secret,
رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً
إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاءِ (آل عمران:38(
O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring.
You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation (Q. 3:38)
While he was standing in prayer at his place of
worship the angels came and spoke to him directly that Allah gave him good
tidings of a son called Yahya. Allah Himself gave him this name which literally means
“he lives”, because Allah filled his life with faith (Qatadah’s interpretation).
A person without faith is spiritually a dead person. Muhammad Asad’s commentary to this is that “ …
he will be spiritually alive and will be remembered for ever; and the fact that
God Himself had chosen this name for him was a singular distinction, equivalent
to a divine promise.”
The angels told Zakariyya a.s. further
that the future son would believe in the
word of Allah, which according Ibn ‘Abbas and several other Qur’an
commentators, he would believe in ‘Isa (Jesus) son of Mary, a.s. He
would also be a noble, wise, pious, and chase man and a prophet. (Q. 3:39)
When Prophet
Zakariyya a.s. heard the good news of having a son, he wondered how
could he have a child in his old age with a barren wife, the angel told him
that it was Allah’s will. When he asked a sign that alerted him that the child
would come, he was told that he should not be able to speak to people in three
days and nights except by signals.[4]
Moreover, he was ordered to remember Allah and to glorify Him in the afternoon
and in the morning. (Q. 3:39-41)
In chapter 19 (surat
Maryam), the supplication of Prophet Zakariyya a.s. for a son and
the answer of this supplication are mentioned again. His supplication runs as
follows:
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي
وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنْ بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا.
وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ مِنْ وَرَائِي وَكَانَتِ
امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا فَهَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا.
يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ
وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا (مريم:4-6)
He
said: “My Lord! Indeed my bones have grown feeble,
and grey hair has spread on my head. And I
have never
been unblessed in my invocation to You, O my
Lord! And
verily I fear my relatives after me, and my
wife is barren.
So
give me from Yourself an heir who shall inherit me, and
inherit (also) the posterity of Ya‘qub (Jacob)
(inheritance
of
the religious knowledge and Prophethood, not of
wealth). And make him, my Lord, one with whom
You are Well-Pleased!.” (Q. 19:4-6)
He became overjoyed and amazed as he and his
wife had become old, and his wife had not given birth to any children in her
entire life. He wondered how could this happen, and Allah told him through the
angel who visited him that it was easy for Him. He had created him before, when
he had been nothing. When he asked a sign and a proof of the existence of which
Allah had promised, i.e., pregnancy, so that his soul would be at rest, He told
him that the sign would be that he shall not speak to mankind for three nights
without defect, namely, without sickness or illness. Classical Qur’an
commentators, such as Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, al-Suddi and others said:
“His tongue was arrested without any sickness or illness.” Another classical Qur’an commentator, ‘Abd
al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said: “He used to recite and glorify Allah, but he
was not able to speak to his people except by gestures.” He then came out from
his place of worship to his people and made a subtle and swift gesture to
glorify Allah in the morning and in the afternoon (Q. 19:7-11).[5]
Allah’s
answer of Zakariyya’s prayer is as
follows:
يَا زَكَرِيَّا إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَامٍ اسْمُهُ
يَحْيَى لَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا (مريم:7)
“O Zakariyya (Zechariah!
Verily, We give you the glad
tidings of a son, whose name will be Yahya
(John). We have
given that name to none before (him). (Q. 19:7)
There are several interpretations
regarding the name Yahya in the above verse:
a.
No name “Yahya” had been
given to a person before, according to Qatadah, Ibn Jurayj, al-Suddi,
and ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.
b.
Allah had, for the first time, called one of his elect by that name,
according to Abdullah Yusuf Ali. He said that “Yahya” in the Hebrew form is “Johanan”
which means “Jehovah has been gracious”, and the name was not given for
the first time, as we read that Johanan was the son of Careah in II Kings, xxv, 23.
c.
The term سَمِيًّا (samiyyan) instead of meaning
“name” it means شَبِيْهًا (shabihan)
meaning “resemblance” and مَثَلاً (mathalan)
meaning “similarity”. The verse then means: “No barren woman at all had ever
born a baby like him,” according to Ibn ‘Abbas. It means, “We have not made
before any similarity with him”, according to Ibn Mujahid.
The
supplication of Prophet Zakariyya (Zechariah) a.s. is mentioned again
briefly in the Qur’an capter 21 (surat al-Anbiya’, the Prophets), as
follows:
وَزَكَرِيَّا إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْنِي
فَرْدًا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْوَارِثِينَ. فَاسْتَجَبْنَا
لَهُ وَوَهَبْنَا
لَهُ يَحْيَى وَأَصْلَحْنَا لَهُ زَوْجَهُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ
وَيَدْعُونَنَا
رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ (الأنبياء:89-90)
And (remember) Zakariyya (Zechariah), when he
cried
to his Lord: “O my Lord! Leave
me not single (childless), though
You are the Best of the inheritors.” So We
answered his call, and
We
bestowed upon him Yahya (John [the Baptist]) and cured his
wife (to bear child) for him. Verily, they
used to hasten on to do
good
deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear,
and used to humble themselves before Us. (Q. 21:89-90)
The above
verses indicate that like his parents, Yahya
(John) would also be used to hasten on to do good, to call on Allah with hope
and fear, and to humble himself before Him. According to Biblical account both
prophets were killed. Allah mentions in the Qur’an about their cruelty, as
follows:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ
وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَيَقْتُلُونَ الَّذِينَ
يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْقِسْطِ مِنَ النَّاسِ
فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ (آل عمران:21)
Lo! those who disbelieve the revelations of Allah
and
slay the Prophets wrongfully and slay those of
mankind who enjoin equity, promise him
They killed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest,
not the father of John the Baptist. He died natural death. According to the Bible,
Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) was beheaded by the order of King Herod
(Matthew 14:3-11), It is said that Prophet Yahya
a.s. was killed upon a rock in Jerualem, and his head was taken to Damascus.
The reason was that a king wanted to marry one his relatives, but Yahya refused
the idea. He was killed and the king married the woman. Some say that he was
killed in Damascus instead of Jerusalem. A monument for him in the Umawi mosque
still remains until today. However, there is no indication in
the Qur’an that he was executed, nor in the sound traditions. Three traditions mention
about him but all are weak. Allah says about him in the Qur’an, as follows:
وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ
يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا (مريم:15)
And peace be upon
him the day he was born, and the days he
dies, and the day he will be raised up to life
(again) (Q. 19:15)
The Qur’an does not say that he was killed
which is قُتِلَ (qutila),
as the Qur’an makes distinction between dying and being killed, such as in Q. 2:154;
3:157, 169; 33:16 and in the following verse:
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ
قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ
أَوْ قُتِلَ
انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ ...(آل عمران:144)
Muhammad is no more
than a Messenger, and indeed
(many) Messengers have passed away before him.
If he
dies or is killed,
will you then turn back on your
heels (as
disbelievers)?...(Q. 3:144)
Another view is that like
John the Baptist who died natural death, Jesus also would die natural death
after his return to the earth. He said, among other things, to those who
accused his mother Mary (Maryam) of indecency, as follows:
وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدْتُ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ
حَيًّا (مريم:33)
And peace be upon me the day I was born, and the
day I die,
[he did not say “the day I
died
(مِتً) , or I was killed(قُتِلْتُ)
,
or
crucified صُلِبْتُ)”] and the day I shall be raised alive
again [he
did not say “I was raised alive again
(after his crucifixion)]”. (Q. 19:33)
Who was, then, executed and crucified as mentioned in the
Bible? There should have been somebody else, and Allah knows best.
Other similarities between the two prophets are that they were dutiful
to their parents (Jesus to his mother), not arrogant, nor disobedient (for Yahya),
nor unblessed (for ‘Isa) (Q. 19:14, 32). According
to Islamic tradition Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. met both of them in the
second heaven in his mi’raj (ascension to heaven).
(CIVIC,
5 September, 2014)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت. 310 هـ (
تفسير القرطبى (ت. 671 هـ(
تفسير ابن كثير (ت. 774 هـ(
Abu Khalil, Dr. Shauqi . Atlas of the
Qur’an. Riyadh, Darussalam, 2003
Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’an
Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the
Qur’an.
Holy
Bible: New International Version, 1973
http://www.ebadalrehman.com/t167-topic من قتل زكريا ويحيى
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zechariah_(priest)http://www.itsislam.net/articles/prophet_zakariya.asp
http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p184.htm
[1]Zechariah, the son of King Jeroboam II who reigned for
only 6 months around 746 BC and became
the 14th King of Israel. He was an evil king (2 Kings 15:9), assassinated by
Shallum, who then became king. For
Zechariah's story in the Old Testament, see 2 Kings 14:29 and in 2 Kings
15:8-12.
[2] Zechariah, the son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo was a
prophet from 520 BC to 518 BC in Jerusalem. Prophet Zechariah and Prophet
Haggai preached to their fellow Jews to rebuild the Temple which had been
destroyed by the Babylonians (see Ezra 6:14). After their return to Jerusalem
from the Babylonian captivity they rebuilt the city and the Temple. Among
Zachariah’s prophecy are the promise of the Messiah, the persecution of Jews
and Jerusalem would become a battleground of nations. The Book of Zechariah in
the Old Testament is the 11th book of the twelve minor prophets.
[3] Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, and
husband of Elizabeth was a priest belonging to the order of Abijah. (Luke 1:5)
While he was offering incense in the Temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him,
and told him that his prayer had been heard; his wife Elizabeth who had been
barren for many years would give birth to a son, and the son's name would be
John. (Luke 1:11-13). Another priest called Zechariah, was the son of Jehoiada,
who was stoned to death as he chastised the people in the courts of the First
Temple (2 Chron. 24:20-24).
[4]Instead of three days and three nights Zakariyya was
not allowed to talk to people, according to the Bible’s account he was only
able to speak when he wrote the name of his new born baby “John” in a writing
table. This means that Prophet Zakariyya was unable to speak for several
months, about nine months, since the angel Gabriel visited until his baby was
born. The Bible states as follows: “When it was time for Elizabeth to have
her baby, she gave birth to a son. On the eighth day they came to circumcise
the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, "No!
He is to be called John." They said to her, “There is no one among our
relatives who has that name.” Then they made signs to his father, to find out
what he would like to name the child. He
asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, "His
name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed,
and he began to speak, praising God.”
(Luke 1:57, 59-64).
[5] According to the Bible account Zechariah doubted the
glad tidings the angel Gabriel had told him. Because he did not believe him he
would not be able to speak until the day this happened, which would come true
at its proper time. (Luke 1,18-22).
[6] The Bible also mentions about the killing of prophets
as follows: “Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers.
Some of them you will kill and crucify, others you will flog in your in your
synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the
righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel
to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple
and the altar. I tell you the truth. all this will come upon this generation. O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, …
(Matthew 23:34-37). See also Luke 11:51. But according to the Book of Chronicles, it
was "Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who was "stoned to death
in the courtyard of the Lord's temple" not Zechariah son of Berekiah,
namely, Zechariah the prophet, not the priest (2 Chronicles 24:20).
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