'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "There, Zakariya called upon his Lord, saying, 'My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearing of supplication.'" "And the angels called to him while he was standing in prayer in the sanctuary, 'Indeed, Allah gives you good tidings of Yahya, confirming a word from Allah, and [he will be] a leader and chast and a prophet from among the righteous.'" There - in the speech of the Arabs - is an indication of a place that has distance or time. And 'there' with the preposition 'lam' is more emphatic in indicating distance, and 'there' is not grammatically analyzed because it is an indication, resembling the letters that came for meaning. The meaning of this verse is that at the time Zakariya saw Allah's provision for Maryam and her status with Him, and he thought that she came to her mother after she had aged, and that Allah had accepted her and made her among the righteous, his hope stirred for seeking a child and his desire grew strong. This was despite his state of age, weakness of bones, and the graying of hair, and this was due to his fear of his relatives after him - as it is interpreted in Surah Maryam, if Allah wills - so he called upon his Lord to grant him a good offspring. And 'offspring' is a term that applies to one and upward, just as 'guardian' is a term that applies similarly. And Al-Tabari said that he intended here by 'offspring' one, and the evidence for that is his request for a guardian and he did not ask for guardians. And he feminized 'good' based on the word 'offspring' as the poet said: 'Your father is a caliph, another gave birth to him, and you are a caliph; that is the perfection.' And as another said: 'So do not underestimate from a mountain snake; silence when it bites is not to be underestimated.' And in what Al-Tabari said is a rebuttal, for indeed 'offspring' and 'guardian' are terms that apply to one and more, and thus was the request of Zakariya, peace be upon him. And 'good' means: sound in character and religion, pure. 'Hearing' in this verse is the structure of a noun of the doer. Then He, exalted and glorified is He, said: "And the angels called to him," and much has been omitted that what was mentioned indicates. Its estimation is: so Allah accepted his supplication and granted him Yahya, and sent the angel or the angels to him with that. So they called to him, and it has been mentioned that there was between his supplication and the response to him with the good tidings forty years. And the majority of the commentators mentioned that the caller informing him was only Gabriel, and this is the norm in revelation to the prophets. And some said: rather, many angels called according to what the words of the verse necessitate. And we have found that Allah, exalted and glorified is He, sent angels to Lut and to Ibrahim, peace be upon them, and in other than that story.

And in the Mushaf of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and his recitation: "Then Gabriel called him while he was standing praying." And Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Asim, Ibn Amir, and Abu Amr read: "Then the angels called him" with the 'taa'. And Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "Then the angels called him" - with the 'alif' and the inclination of the 'dal'. Abu Ali said: Whoever reads with the 'taa' does so for the position of the collective, and the collective is among those who have reason in the plural of broken forms; it follows the same pattern as what does not have reason. Do you not see that you say: 'They are the men' just as you say: 'They are the trunks' and 'They are the camels', and similarly: "The Bedouins said." So Abu Ali interpreted that the caller is many angels, and the reading with the 'taa' is according to the saying of those who say: The caller is Gabriel alone, directed towards considering the term 'angels', and he referred to Gabriel as the angels since he is one of them. He mentioned the name of the genus as Allah, the Exalted, said: "Those whom the people said to them." Abu Ali said: And whoever reads: "Then the angels called him," it is like His saying, the Exalted: "And the women in the city said."

The judge said: And this is on the basis that the caller is many, and whoever said that it is Gabriel alone, like Al-Suddi and others, singled out the action considering the meaning, and referred to Gabriel, peace be upon him, as the angels since it is the name of his genus.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Then they called him" is an expression used in giving good news and in what should be hastened to and conveyed to the soul of the listener so that he may be pleased with it. This was not from the angels as a report according to the convention of revelation, but rather a call just as the Ansari man called Ka'b ibn Malik from the top of the mountain.

And His saying, the Exalted: "While he was standing" is a clause in the position of the state, and "praying" is a description of "standing", and "the mihrab" in this position is the place of the imam in the mosque.

And Ibn Amir and Hamzah read: "Indeed, Allah" with the 'alif' being broken. Abu Ali said: This is on the basis of implying the saying, as if he said: "Then the angels called him" and they said. This is like His saying, the Exalted: "And he called upon his Lord, indeed I am overcome" according to the reading of those who broke the 'alif. Some grammarians said: It was broken after the call and the supplication because the call and the supplication are words. And the others read with the 'alif' being opened from His saying: "That Allah gives you good news". Abu Ali said: The meaning is: They called him that Allah, so when the preposition was omitted from it, the action reached it and it was made accusative, so "that" is in the position of accusative, and according to the analogy of the saying of Al-Khalil in the position of the genitive. And in the reading of Abdullah: "In the mihrab, O Zachariah, indeed Allah," Abu Ali said: His saying: "Zachariah" is in the position of accusative due to the occurrence of the call upon him, and it is not permissible to open the 'alif' in "Indeed" according to this reading because "Then they called him" has fulfilled its two objects, one of them being the pronoun and the other being the one called. If you opened "Indeed", there would be nothing left related to it. Abu Ali said: And all of them read: "In the mihrab" with the 'raa' being opened - except Ibn Amir, for he inclined it, and Ibn Mujahid broadly stated the saying regarding the inclination of Ibn Amir's 'alif' from "mihrab" and did not specify it with the genitive from others, and others than Ibn Mujahid said: We only incline it in the genitive.

Ibn Kathir and Abu Amr read: "Yubashiruka," with a dammah on the ya and a fatha on the ba and shaddah - in all of the Quran except in: "Ain Sin Qaf" where they read "Thalika Alladhi yubashiru Allahu 'ibadahu" - with a fatha on the ya, a sukoon on the ba, and a dammah on the sheen. Nafi', Asim, and Ibn Amer read: "Yubashiruka" with a shaddah on the broken sheen in all of the Quran. Hamzah read: "Yabshuru" lightly - with a dammah on the sheen, "mimma lam yaq'a" in all of the Quran except for His saying: "Fabima tubashiruna." Al-Kisai read: "Yabshuru" lightly in five places: in Aal Imran in the story of Zakariya and the story of Maryam, and in Surah Bani Isra'il and Al-Kahf: "Wayabshiru al-mu'minina" and in Ain Sin Qaf - "Yabshiru Allahu 'ibadahu."

Several linguists said: In this word, there are three languages: Bashara with a shaddah on the sheen, Bashar with its lightening, and Abshara yubashiru ibsharan. All of these readings are eloquent and transmitted. In the reading of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: "Yubashiruka" - with a dammah on the ya and a light sheen - from "Abshara" and he read this in all of the Quran.

And "Yahya" is a name that Allah named him before he was born. Abu Ali said: It is a name in Hebrew that coincided with this form, and the meaning is from Arabic. Al-Zajjaj said: It does not decline because if it is non-Arabic, it has the definite article and foreignness, and if it is Arabic, it has the definite article and the form of the verb. Qatadah said: Allah named him Yahya because He gave him life with faith, and "Musaddiqan" is in the accusative as a description, and it is confirmed according to the state of these prophets, peace be upon them.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Bikalimatin min Allahi," Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, Al-Hasan, Al-Suddi, and others said: The word here refers to Isa ibn Maryam. And Allah, the Exalted, named Isa a word because he was produced from a word from Him, the Exalted, not because of another human like the custom of mankind. Ibn Abbas narrated that the wife of Zakariya said to Maryam while they were both pregnant: "Indeed, I feel what is in my womb moving for what is in your womb," and in some narrations: "prostrating for what is in your womb." He said: So that is his confirmation, meaning: the first confirmation. Some people said: "Bikalimatin min Allahi" means: with a book from Allah, the Gospel and other books of Allah, thus placing the singular in the position of the plural, so "Kalimatin" is a generic name, and on this view, the Arabs named a long poem a word.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Wasayyidan" Qatadah said about it: By Allah, a lord in forbearance, worship, and piety. And he said at another time: Its meaning is: in knowledge and worship. Ibn Jubair said: "Wasayyidan" meaning: a forbearant one. And he said at another time: The lord is the pious one. Al-Dahhak said: "Wasayyidan" meaning: a pious forbearant one. Ibn Zayd said: The lord is the noble one. Ibn Al-Musayyib said: The lord is the knowledgeable jurist. Ibn Abbas said: "Wasayyidan" he says, a pious forbearant one. And Ikrimah said: The lord is the one who is not overcome by anger.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Whoever among these mentioned scholars interprets leadership with forbearance has secured most of the meaning of leadership. Whoever restricts his interpretation to knowledge and piety and similar matters but does not interpret according to the words of the Arabs, knowledge has been attained by Yahya, peace be upon him, by his saying, exalted is He: ﴿Confirming a word from Allah﴾, and piety is attained by the rest of the verse. Allah has specifically mentioned leadership, which is reliance on the pleasure of the people in the most honorable ways without falling into falsehood. This term encompasses leadership, and its details can be said to include generosity, which is nobility, refraining from harm, which here refers to chastity in private parts, hands, and tongue, bearing great burdens, which here is forbearance, and other forms of enduring hardships, mending the broken, favoring the needy, and rescuing from destruction. Consider that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "I am the master of the children of Adam, and there is no pride in it; Allah will gather the first and the last," and he mentioned the hadith of intercession in the release of the situation, and from this, there is a possibility in the pleasure of the son of Adam, for he is their master by this. There may exist among trustworthy scholars some who do not excel in these qualities, and there may be some who excel in these and are called a master even if they fall short in many obligations, meaning the obligations of recommendation and striving for the truth and being unconcerned with the blame of the blamers. Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I have not seen anyone blacker than Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan. It was said to him: And Abu Bakr and Umar? He said: They are better than Muawiyah, and Muawiyah is blacker than them. This indicates that Muawiyah excelled in these qualities as long as he did not engage in what is prohibited; and that Abu Bakr and Umar were among those who were diligent in fulfilling obligations and pursuing that from themselves and establishing the truths among the people, whereby they were better than Muawiyah. Along with pursuing the truths, guiding the people towards righteousness, being unconcerned with their pleasure, and weighing with the scales of the Shari'ah, much of these qualities that are leadership are neglected by time. Piety, knowledge, and adherence to the stricter are more confirmed and higher than leadership. However, it is good for the pious scholar to take from leadership all that does not compromise his knowledge and piety. This was how Yahya, peace be upon him, was. And this is not what is good in obligation nor is it necessary, just as pursuing and clarifying in strictness is not obligatory nor necessary. They are two paths of goodness surrounded by the Shari'ah. So, one may lean towards this and another towards that. An example of this is a harsh, frowning, rude judge towards anyone who has the slightest deviation, who does not care for the needs of the people, and another who has a smiling face, is cheerful, cares for what is permissible, does not pursue what has not been raised to him, and executes the judgment with gentleness towards the one being judged. These are two commendable paths.

And His saying: "And a chaste man" is originally from the meaning of confinement and prevention. From it is the word 'hasir' because it confines whoever sits upon it. From it, the prison is called 'hasir' and Hell is called 'hasir'. From it also is the confinement of the enemy and the restriction of illness and excuse. It is said that the one who does not spend with his companions is 'hasur'. Al-Akhtal said:

'And a drinker who is profitable with the cup has made me regret Not with the chaste nor in it with a bracelet.'

And it is said that the one who conceals a secret is 'hasur' and 'hasir'. Jarir said:

'And indeed the informers have fallen upon me, and they encountered A chaste one with your secret, O Umaym, who is stingy.'

And all those whose sayings are considered among the interpreters agree that this attribute for Yahya, peace be upon him, is only the abstention from the company of women, except what Makki narrated from the saying of those who said: that he is 'hasur' from sins, meaning he does not approach them. Ibn al-Musayyib narrated from Ibn al-Aas, either Abdullah or his father, from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Every son of Adam comes on the Day of Resurrection with a sin except for Yahya ibn Zakariya." He said: Then the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, pointed with his hand to the earth and took a small twig, then said: "And that is because he did not have what men have except for this twig. Therefore, Allah named him a leader and chaste." Ibn Mas'ud said: 'Hasur' is the impotent man. Mujahid and Qatadah said: 'Hasur' is the one who does not approach women. Ibn Abbas and Al-Dahhak said: 'Hasur' is the one who does not emit semen.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Some scholars went to the opinion that the confinement of Yahya, peace be upon him, was because he had nothing but like a small twig. Some of them went to the opinion that his confinement was because he was impotent and did not approach women, even though his creation was not deficient. Some of them went to the opinion that his confinement was because he restrained himself in piety and endurance in obedience to Allah, and he had the ability to engage with women. They said: And this is more praiseworthy for him, and there is no praise for him in the first two interpretations, except that Allah facilitated for him something he did not earn. And the rest of the verse is clear. It has been narrated about his righteousness, peace be upon him, that he lived on grass, and that he cried a lot out of fear of Allah until the tears carved paths and grooves in his face.