'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "O Zakariya, indeed We give you good tidings of a boy whose name is Yahya. We have not made for him before any equivalent." He said, "My Lord, how can I have a boy when my wife is barren and I have reached extreme old age?" He said, "Thus it will be; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me. Indeed, I created you before, while you were nothing.'" He said, "My Lord, grant me a sign." He said, "Your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three nights, being sound." So he came out to his people from the prayer chamber and signaled to them to glorify Allah in the morning and in the afternoon. The meaning: It was said to him after his supplication: 'Indeed, We give you good tidings of a boy who will be born to you, his name is Yahya.' The majority read: 'We give you good tidings' with a fatha on the ba and a kasra on the sheen, doubled. The companions of Ibn Mas'ud read: 'We give you good tidings' with a sukoon on the ba and a damma on the sheen. Qatadah said: He was named Yahya because Allah gave him life through prophethood and faith. Some said: He was named this because Allah revived the people through him with religion. His saying: 'an equivalent' means in the language: We have not made for him a partner in this name, meaning: He was not named before Yahya. This is the saying of Qatadah, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Aslam, and Al-Suddi. Mujahid and others said: 'an equivalent' means: a similar or counterpart. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is as if it is from the concept of similarity and elevation, and in this there is a distance; for he does not excel over Ibrahim and Musa, peace be upon them, except in a specific matter of leadership and exclusivity. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: Its meaning is: barren women have not given birth to one like him. Zakariya's saying: 'How can I have a boy?' The people differed in this. One group said: He was only requesting a child without specifying a son, so when he was given the good tidings of a son, he inquired about the means of this with these obstacles. Another group said: He was only requesting a child while he was in a state where he hoped for a child through marrying someone other than the barren woman, or he was given the good tidings and his response did not come except after a long time, during which he reached a state of one who cannot have children. Then he inquired and informed about himself regarding old age and extreme age. Another group said: Rather, he requested a child, and when he was given the good tidings at the time of supplication, he inquired in the manner of questioning, not in the manner of doubt. How is the way to reach this? And how has destiny occurred with it? Not that he thought this was far from the power of Allah.

Al-'Itiyy and al-'Usiyy: the exaggeration in old age and the dryness of the wood or the grayness of the head, and so on. Hamzah and al-Kisai read: "‘Itiyyān" with a kasrah on the ‘ayn, while the others read it with a dammah. Ibn Mas'ud read: "‘Atyān" with a fatha on the ‘ayn. Abu Hatim reported that Ibn Mas'ud read: "‘Usiyyān" with a dammah on the ‘ayn and with a sīn, and al-Dani also reported this from Ibn Abbas. Al-Tabari narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, that he said: I do not know whether the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, used to read in the Dhuhr and Asr prayers, nor do I know whether he read: "‘Itiyyān" or "‘Usiyyān" with a sīn. Al-Tabari narrated from al-Suddi that he said: Gabriel called out to Zakariya: "Indeed, Allah gives you good tidings of a boy whose name is Yahya." Then the devil met him and said to him: That voice was not from an angel but rather from a devil. At that point, Zakariya said: "How can I have a boy?" to affirm that this was from Allah.

And Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Zakariya is from the offspring of Harun, peace be upon him. Qatadah said: This matter occurred to him when he was seventy years old, and it was said he was seventy years old. Al-Zajjaj said: He was sixty-five years old.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: He had a strong belief that he would not have a child.

And his saying: "He said: Thus"; it was said that the meaning is: The angel said to him: Thus let existence be, as it was said to you: Your Lord said: The creation of the boy is easy for Me, meaning: it is not something unprecedented, and just as I created you before and brought you from non-existence to existence, so I will do now... Al-Tabari said: The meaning of his saying: "Thus" is that the two matters you mentioned, the barren woman and old age, are like that, but your Lord said.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The meaning in my view is: The angel said thus, meaning: In this condition, your Lord said it is easy for Me.

And the majority read: "And I have created you," while Hamzah and al-Kisai read: "And We have created you." And His saying, the Exalted: "And you were not anything," means: not existing. Zakariya said: "My Lord, grant me a sign," meaning: a sign by which I can know the validity of this and that it is from You. It has been narrated that when Zakariya, peace be upon him, recognized this, he then asked for the sign, and Allah, the Exalted, punished him by causing him to be mute from speaking to people. This was not due to an illness—such as dumbness or the like—but in any case, it is a punishment. It has been narrated from Ibn Zayd that when Zakariya's wife became pregnant with Yahya, he could not speak to anyone, yet he would read the Torah and remember Allah. When he wanted to speak to someone, he could not do it.

It is possible that his saying: "Grant me a sign" means: a sign by which I know that the pregnancy has occurred, and with this, al-Zajjaj explained.

And the meaning of his saying: "Suwiyyan" according to what the majority said is: sound without any defect or dumbness. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also said: That refers back to the nights, meaning: complete and equal.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So he came out to his people﴾ [Al-Qasas: 79], means that Allah, exalted is He, manifested the sign by which Zakariya came out from his prayer niche, which is the place of prayer. The 'mihrab' is the highest of places and buildings; it is where it fights against those who oppose it. Then this name was specifically assigned to the building of prayer. They used to take it in what is elevated from the ground. People differed in its derivation. One group said: It is taken from 'harb' (war), as if its occupant fights against the devil and desires. Another group said: It is taken from 'harab' (with a fatḥah on the rā), as if its occupant encounters from it war, fatigue, and hardship. There is further consideration regarding the wording after this.

And His saying: "So He inspired," Qatadah and Ibn Munabbih said: That was by indication. Mujahid said: Rather, by having it written in the dust.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Both sayings are revelation. And His saying: ﴿To glorify﴾, 'to' is explanatory, meaning 'that is', and 'glorify' means, according to Qatadah: 'pray'. And 'subḥah' means 'prayer'. Another group said: Rather, He commanded them to remember Allah and to say: 'Subḥanallah'. And Talhah read: 'To glorify Him' with a pronoun, and the rest of the verse is clear.