'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, the Exalted, said: "My Lord, make for me a sign." He said, "Your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three days except by gesture. And remember your Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and the morning." The sign is the indication. Al-Rabi' and Al-Suddi and others said: Indeed, Zakariya said, "O my Lord, if this speech is from You and the glad tidings are true, then make for me a sign by which I can know the truth of that." He was punished for this doubt regarding the matter of Allah by being prevented from speaking for three days with the people. A group of the interpreters said: Zakariya never doubted, but rather he asked about the manner in which the child would be born and the glad tidings would be completed. When it was said to him: "Thus Allah does what He wills" [Al-Imran: 40], he asked for a sign regarding the time of the pregnancy to know when he would conceive Yahya. The interpreters differed: Was his being prevented from speaking due to an affliction that befell him, or was it for another reason? Jubair ibn Nufayr said: His tongue was tied in his mouth until it was filled, then Allah released it after three days. Al-Rabi' and others said: He was punished because the angels spoke to him with the glad tidings, and after that he asked for a sign, so Allah took away his tongue from him, and he was unable to speak. Some of the interpreters said: It was not an affliction, but he was prevented from conversing with the people, and he was unable to do so, while he was able to remember Allah. This was said by Al-Tabari, and something similar was mentioned by Muhammad ibn Ka'b. Then he excepted the gesture, which is an exception that is disconnected. The jurists have ruled that gestures and similar actions are in the same category as speech in oaths and similar matters. Based on this, the exception comes as connected, and the speech intended by the verse is indeed the utterance of the tongue, not the indication of what is in the soul. The reality of this exception is that it is disconnected. The majority of the people read: "ramzan" - with the opening of the ra and the sukoon of the meem - and Alqamah ibn Qais read: "rumzan" with both letters having a dammah, and Al-Amash read: "ramzan" with both letters having a fatha. The gesture in the language is a movement that indicates what is in the soul of the gesturer by any means, whether it be an eye, eyebrow, lip, hand, stick, or something else. It has been said about speech that is altered from its apparent meaning: "rumuz", because they are signs without the word designated for the intended meaning to be conveyed. It may also be said for a sound that indicates a meaning: "ramz", and from it is the saying of Juwayya ibn 'A'id:

And the speech of the heroes was a gesture ∗∗∗ and a murmuring for them like the roar.

As for the interpreters, each one specified a type of gesture in his interpretation of this verse. Mujahid said: "Except by gesture" means: except by a movement with the lips. Al-Dahhak said: It means: except by a gesture with the hand and head, and so said Al-Suddi and Abdullah ibn Kathir. Al-Hasan said: His tongue was restrained, so he began to gesture with his hand to his people. Qatadah said: "Except by gesture" means: except by a sign.

And the majority of the people read: "That you should not speak to the people" with the verb in the accusative case with 'an', and Ibn Abi Abla read: "That you should not speak" with the raising of the 'mim'. This is based on the assumption that 'an' is a light form of the heavy one, and it contains the pronoun of command and matter. The meaning is: Your sign is that you do not speak to the people. And the statement that this verse was abrogated by the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "I do not fast a day until the night" is a statement evidently corrupt from various angles.

And He, the Exalted, commanded him to remember his Lord frequently because there was no barrier between him and the remembrance of Allah. This indicates that he was not afflicted by any flaw or defect in his tongue. And Muhammad ibn Kab al-Qurazi said: If Allah had permitted anyone to abandon the remembrance, He would have permitted Zakariya, peace be upon him, when he said: "Your sign is that you should not speak to the people for three days except in gestures." But He said to him: "And remember your Lord frequently." And His saying, the Exalted, "And glorify" means: Say: Glory be to Allah. And some people said it means: Pray. The first statement is more correct because it corresponds with the remembrance and is strange with the prohibition of speaking with the people.

And 'al-‘ashiyy' in the language is from the decline of the sun until its setting. From it is the saying of al-Qasim ibn Muhammad: I did not catch the people except while they were praying the noon prayer at 'ashiyy'. And 'al-‘ashiyy' is from the time when the shadow inclines. From it is the saying of Humayd ibn Thawr:

"So neither the shade from the coolness of the morning can you endure, nor the shadow from the coolness of the evening can you taste."

And 'al-‘ashiyy' is a singular noun according to some of them, and the plural of '‘ashiyyah' according to some of them is like 'safina' and 'safin'. And 'al-‘ibkar' is the source of 'abkara' the man, if he hastens his matter from the rising of the sun. And the morning continues a little after the rising of the sun. It is said: The man hastened, and he was early. From the first is the saying of Ibn Abi Rabiah:

"Are you from the family of Numa, departing and early..."

And from the second is the saying of Jarir:

"Oh, how early Salma has risen, and her morning has become bright, and her leader has split the stick after the gathering."

And Mujahid said in the interpretation of 'al-‘ibkar': The first of dawn, and 'al-‘ashiyy': the inclination of the sun until it sets.