Prophets of Allah: Zachariah ‘was of the virtuous’

“And We did raise among every people a Messenger”

Jalees Ahmad, Al Hakam

Zachariah [زَكَرِيَّا] was a noble man from Israel and a prophet of God (Surah al-An‘am, Ch. 6: V.86). He was the father of John^as [Yahya] – also known as John of the New Testament – cousin of Jesus^as. (Five Volume Commentary, Vol.2, p.482)

In the Holy Quran, we read that Zachariah^as is described as the guardian of Mary^as.

“So her Lord accepted her with a gracious acceptance and caused her to grow an excellent growth and made Zachariah her guardian.” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.38)

Regarding Zachariah’s^as profession, the Holy Prophet^sa is reported to have said:

كَانَ زَكَرِيَّاءُ نَجَّارًا

Zachariah^as was a carpenter. (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-faza’il, Hadith 2379)

Hanna, the mother of Mary^as

With regards to Mary’s^as birth, we read in the Holy Quran:

“[Remember] when [the] woman of ‘Imran said, ‘My Lord, I have vowed to Thee what is in my womb to be dedicated to Thy service. So do accept it of me; verily, Thou alone art All-Hearing, All-Knowing.’

“But when she was delivered of it, she said, ‘My Lord, I am delivered of a female’ — and Allah knew best what she had brought forth and the male [she was thinking of] was not like the female [she had brought forth] — ‘and I have named her Mary, and I commit her and her offspring to Thy protection from Satan, the rejected.’” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.36-37)

Deeming that she would give birth to a son, Hannah (www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Anne; Five Volume Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 477), the mother of Mary^as, the woman of Imran, vowed to God that whatever was in her womb would be dedicated to His service. However, when she gave birth to a girl, she was puzzled. The mother of Mary^as said and prayed, “‘I have named her Mary, and I commit her and her offspring to Thy protection from Satan, the rejected.’” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.37)

The Holy Quran informs us that Mary’s^as mother’s prayer was granted, and indeed, Mary^as grew up with remarkable virtues. Prophet Zachariah^as was appointed her guardian. (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.38)

Zachariah^as as Mary’s^as guardian, and the matter of finding ‘with her provisions’

It should be remembered that the words mentioned in the Holy Quran to denote Zachariah^as as Mary’s^as guardian are:

وَّکَفَّلَہَا زَکَرِيَّا

“and made Zachariah her guardian” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.38)

In light of this, in the Five Volume Commentary, it is explained:

“کفلھا (made him her guardian) is derived from کفل . They say کفله i.e,. he was or became responsible for him; he became his guardian. کفل خالدا زيدا means, he made Zaid the guardian of Khalid; he gave Khalid into the guardianship of Zaid (Aqrab).” (Five Volume Commentary, Vol.2, p. 482)

It is recorded in the Holy Quran that “Whenever Zachariah visited her in the chamber, he found with her provisions. He said, ‘O Mary, whence hast thou this?’ She replied, ‘It is from Allah.’ Surely, Allah gives to whomsoever He pleases without measure.” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.38)

In light of this verse, we read:

“Many fantastic stories have been woven around Mary’s^as reply to Zachariah’s^as question as to whence she got the gifts he found lying about her. The gifts were evidently brought by worshippers visiting the place and there was also nothing extraordinary in her reply that the gifts were from Allah, for every good thing that comes to man is really from God, He being the final agency. In fact, from a girl of Mary’s^as religious upbringing, any other reply would rather have been surprising. The accounts of Mary^as having been provided with heavenly fruits by angels are, therefore, nothing but the figment of the commentators’ own minds and find no support whatsoever from the Quran or the sayings of the Holy Prophet^sa.” (Five Volume Commentary, Vol. 2, p.483)

This noble reply left a profound impact on Zachariah^as, igniting within him a deep desire for righteous descendants of his own. There and then, with this deep impact, he prayed, “‘My Lord, grant me from Thyself pure offspring; surely, Thou art the Hearer of prayer.’” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.39)

The mention of Prophet Zachariah’s^as prayer and desire in various places in the Holy Quran indicates that he must have made this supplication repeatedly. (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.39; Surah Maryam, Ch.19: V.5-7; Surah al-Anbiya’, Ch.21: V.90)

Furthermore, this prayer was offered during Mary’s^as childhood, and the fulfilment of Zachariah’s^as supplication came to pass with the birth of his son, Yahya, when Mary^as reached adulthood.

Allah’s favour upon Zachariah^as

As Zachariah^as prayed in the chamber, the angles called to him saying, “‘Allah gives thee glad tidings of Yahya, who shall testify to the truth of a word from Allah – noble and chaste and a Prophet, from among the righteous.’” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.40)

Zachariah^as replied that he was now old and his wife was barren. Upon this, it was said, “‘Such is the way of Allah: He does what He pleases.’” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.41)

Zachariah’s^as question in no way implied any sort of disbelief; however, the Bible suggests otherwise. In Luke, we read: “because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” (Luke, 1:20)

In fact, Prophet Zachariah’s^as response was purely innocent, stemming from a place of surprise. “It is simply a spontaneous expression of innocent surprise at the divine promise. It also contains a veiled prayer that he might live long enough to see the child born and grow up into a young man. Zachariah^as has referred to his old age and the barrenness of his wife to make God’s mercy take a practical shape all the more speedily.” (Five Volume Commentary, Vol.2, p.485)

He further replied to his Lord, asking him to appoint a token for him. He was told, “‘Thy token shall be that thou shalt not speak to men for three days except by signs. And remember thy Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and in the early morning.’” (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.42)

Prophet Zachariah^as was instructed to refrain from speech for three days, yet he was permitted to communicate through gestures and signs. Through a study of the Bible, it is revealed that signs were often given as a confirmation of prophecies. (Genesis, 9:‌17 & 17:‌11; Exodus 31:‌13-17)

It should not be interpreted as Zachariah^as being deprived of the ability to speak; this was not the case at all. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra, under this verse, states that the words, “‘And remember thy Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and in the early morning’”, clearly indicate that his ability to speak was not obstructed. (Haqaiqul Furqan, Vol. 1, p. 468)

The command to remain silent for three days meant that Prophet Zachariah^as would have more time to dedicate to meditation and remembrance of Allah. Further, Islam also teaches that one should refrain from excessive talking (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2853)

In light of Prophet Zachariah’s^as prayer for offspring, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh states:

“It seems that the desire for pure and pious progeny generated in the heart of Hazrat Zachariah^as only due to looking at the piety of Hazrat Maryam^as.” (The Holy Quran, Urdu translation by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh, p. 79)

Huzoor^rh, in another place, states:

“He [Prophet Zachariah^as] desired to have a child, but he had so advanced in age that with white hair on his head, it was as if he was all aflame with hoariness and the wife was not only old but she was barren as well. Thus, this was an example of miraculous birth that despite both [of these apparent barriers] he was bestowed upon Hazrat Yahyaas [John]. He had developed the desire to have a child having pondered over the circumstances of Hazrat Maryam^as who was to show the miracle of the fatherless birth of Hazrat Jesus^as.” (Ibid., p. 505)

A reminder and example from the prayer of Zachariah^as

In light of the spiritual way to be blessed with offspring, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud states: “The spiritual way [of getting offspring] is the same as that used by Zachariah^as, (which is mentioned in the first ruku‘ of Surah Maryam).” (Al Fazl, 23-27 December 1920); (“100 Years Ago… – Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s insightful replies to essential questions”, Al Hakam, Issue 146, p. 8 )

As mentioned above, Zachariah^as was bestowed with the glad tidings of a son. One interesting point to ponder is his ardent desire for offspring.

In the Holy Quran, we read:

“When he called upon his Lord, a secret calling, He said, ‘My Lord, the bones have indeed waxed feeble in me, and the head glistens with hoariness, but never, my Lord, have I been unblessed in my prayer to Thee.” (Surah Maryam, Ch.19: V.4-5)

Prophet Zachariah’s^as plea to his Lord, expressed through secret cries, indicates that he had harboured a deeply cherished desire within the depths of his heart.

In the Five Volume Commentary, it is explained that “Zachariah^as had understood from Biblical prophecies and heavenly warnings that were administered to the Jews for their repeated rejection of God’s Prophets that prophethood was soon to be transferred from the House of Isaac to that of Ishmael. So he gave vent to his feelings in the form of prayer for the birth of a righteous son.”

Yahya, also known as John of the New Testament, was the son of the Prophet Zachariah^as. He indicated Jesus’^as advent and offered the Jews the glad tidings of Jesus’^as appearance.

Zachariah^as, John^as, Jesus^as and Elias^as

“And [We guided] Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias; each [one of them] was of the virtuous.” (Surah al-An‘am, Ch.6: V.86)

This verse highlights the mention of four prophets: Zachariah^as, John^as (known as Yahya in Arabic), Jesus^as, and Elias^as (known as Ilyas in Arabic and referred to as Elijah^as). These prophets share a connection with one another. Zachariah^as, the father of John, is mentioned in relation to Mary’s^as noble example, as discussed earlier. It signifies that after being inspired by Mary’s^as virtuous character, Zachariah^as became the father of John.

With regards to a link between John^as, Jesus^as and Elijah^as, we find, in Malachi:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Malachi, 4:5)

As mentioned in the previous article on Prophet Elias^as (Al Hakam, Issue 269), during that period, the Jews interpreted the prophecy mentioned above in a literal manner. As a consequence, their understanding of the prophecy hindered them from recognising Prophet Jesus^as as the Messiah.

Prophet Jesus^as, explaining this, is reported to have said the prophecy was fulfilled with the coming of John the Baptist. (Mathew, 11:14)

Hence, all the prophets mentioned in this verse are interconnected in various ways. As messengers of Allah, they exemplified exceptional moral conduct and are honoured in the Holy Quran as embodiments of virtue.