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10. PROPHETS’ DU’A (PRAYER) IN THE QUR’AN (5)

9. 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 Israel1, b. Zechariah, the prophet2, 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

1Zechariah, 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).

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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,

ك من لي هب رب ة لدن ي بة ذر عاء سميع إنك طي )38آل عمران:) الد

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)

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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:

م وهن إن ي رب قال تعل من ي ال عظ أ س واش ا الر ب ا رب بدعائك أكن ولم شي .شقي رأتي وكانت ورائي من ال موالي خف ت وإن ي ا ام ك من لي فهب عاقر ا لدن .ولي

قوب آل من ويرث يرثني عل ه يع ا رب واج (6-4مريم:) رضي 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

4Instead 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).

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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:

ا يا ا زكري مه بغلم نبش رك إن يى اس عل لم يح ل من له نج ا قب (7مريم:) سمي “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

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).

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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 ا instead of meaning “name” it means (samiyyan) سمي ا ه (mathalan) مثل meaning “resemblance” and (shabihan) شبي 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:

ا ه نادى إذ وزكري ني ل رب رب ا تذر د ت فر ر وأن نا .ال وارثين خي تجب فاس نا له يى له ووهب نا يح لح جه له وأص هم زو رات في يسارعون كانوا إن ال خي

عوننا ا ويد ا رغب (90-89األنبياء:) خاشعين لنا وكانوا ورهب 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:

فرون الذين إن تلون للا بآيات يك بي ين ويق ر الن تلون حق بغي الذين ويق

ط يأ مرون هم الناس من بال قس (21آل عمران:) أليم بعذاب فبش ر

Lo! those who disbelieve the revelations of Allah and slay the Prophets wrongfully and slay those of mankind who enjoin

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equity, promise him a painful doom. (Surah 3: Verse 21)6

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:

ه وسلم م علي م ولد يو م يموت ويو عث ويو ا يب (15مريم:) حي

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 قتل (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:

د وما له من خلت قد رسول إل محم سل قب مات أفإن الر

تم قتل أو قلب قابكم على ان (144...)آل عمران: أع Muhammad is no more than a Messenger, and indeed

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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(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:

لم م علي والس ت يو م ولد م أموت ويو عث ويو ا أب (33:مريم) حي

And peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, [he did not say “the day I died ) )مت , or I was killed )ت or ,)قتل

crucified ت( صلب ”] 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 الشاملة المكتبة ) هـ 310. ت) الطبري تفسير )هـ 671. ت) القرطبى تفسير )هـ 774. ت) كثير ابن تفسير

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 يا ويحيى من قتل زكر

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zechariah_(priest) http://www.itsislam.net/articles/prophet_zakariya.asp http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p184.htm