This alongside all the other articles on the stories of the prophets has been taken from Ṣaḥīḥ Qiṣaṣ al Anbiyāʾ (Authentic Stories of the Prophets) by Salim ibn ʿId al Hilali who revised Ibn Kathir’s (Qiṣas al Anbiyāʾ) Stories of the Prophets by removing weak, fabricated, repeated reports and unreliable Isra’ili reports, he only kept the Quran verses, sound hadiths and reports from the Salaf.
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The account of Zakariyya and Yahya عليهما السلام in the Qur’an
The angels give Zakariyya glad tidings of Yahya عليهما السلام
From the virtues of Yahya عليه السلام
Clarifying the reason for the killing of Yahya عليه السلام
Summary
Zakariyya’s Dua and Request for an Heir عليه السلام
Zakariyya عليه السلام, a very old man whose bones had weakened and whose head was filled with grey, called upon his Lord quietly at night, remembering that Allah had always answered his supplications. Seeing the miraculous provision given to Maryam عليها السلام, he asked Allah for a righteous heir from His presence, though his wife had always been barren and was now elderly.
He feared what his relatives might do among Bani Israil after him, so he asked for a son who would inherit him and the family of Yaqub عليه السلام in prophethood, judgement and guidance, not in wealth, since the Prophets are not inherited from and he himself lived from the earning of his own carpentry.
Glad Tidings of Yahya and the Sign Given to Zakariyya عليهما السلام
While Zakariyya عليه السلام was standing in prayer in the mihrab, the angels called to him with glad tidings of a son named Yahya عليه السلام, a name Allah had not given to anyone before. Yahya would confirm a Word from Allah, be a leader, be chaste and be a Prophet from the righteous, so Allah set Zakariyya’s wife right so she could bear after having been barren.
When Zakariyya عليه السلام asked how this could be in such old age, he was told that the One who created him from nothing can easily create a child from him, and his sign was that he would be unable to speak to people for three days and nights except by gesture, while sound in body.
In this state he gestured to his people to glorify Allah morning and evening, and Allah praised him and his household as those who hastened to good deeds, called upon Him in hope and fear and lived in humility.
The Early Virtues and Safety of Yahya عليه السلام
When Yahya عليه السلام was born, Allah said to him that he should take the Book with strength, and granted him wisdom and sound judgement while still a child, together with mercy from His presence, purity, mindfulness of Allah and complete dutifulness to his parents. He was not arrogant or rebellious, but obedient and gentle.
Allah sent peace upon him in the three most difficult stages for every human being, the day of his birth, the day of his death and the day he will be raised alive, so that he would be safe when moving from one state to another.
The Unique Purity and Chastity of Yahya عليه السلام
Allah described Yahya عليه السلام as a leader, chaste and a Prophet from the righteous, his chastity meaning that he was held back from forbidden desire and sin, in harmony with Zakariyya’s request for pure offspring.
The Prophet ﷺ informed that there is no one from the children of Adam except that he has sinned or intended a sin, except Yahya ibn Zakariyya عليه السلام, and that it is not fitting for anyone to claim to be better than Yunus ibn Matta عليه السلام, showing Yahya’s unique purity while keeping the honour of the other Prophets.
Yahya’s Commands to Bani Israil and the Five Instructions of the Final Prophet عليهما السلام
Allah commanded Yahya عليه السلام with five great words to act by and to command Bani Israil with, so he gathered them in Bayt al Maqdis and called them to worship Allah alone without shirk, to establish the prayer while turning fully to Allah, to fast so that their fasting would be beloved to Him, to give charity like a captive ransoming himself until he is freed, and to engage in abundant remembrance of Allah as a strong fortress against Shaytan.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then mentioned that Allah had also commanded him with five matters: to hold fast to the united group of Muslims, to listen and obey, to migrate, to strive in the path of Allah and to abandon the calls of ignorance, calling one another instead by the names Allah chose such as Muslims, believers and servants of Allah.
The Martyrdom of Yahya and Reports about its Place عليه السلام
The most well known cause of the killing of Yahya عليه السلام is that a king wanted to marry a woman closely related to him in a way forbidden by the Sharia, and Yahya forbade him clearly. The woman held a grudge and, when the king promised to fulfil any request, she asked as her gift for the blood of Yahya, so he was killed and his head and blood were brought to her, and it is said she died on the spot.
Scholars then differed whether his killing took place in Bayt al Maqdis or in Damascus; some reports mention that on the rock in Bayt al Maqdis seventy Prophets were killed, among them Yahya, while other reports state that Bukhtansar came to Damascus, saw the boiling blood of Yahya, and killed a vast number of people over it until the blood became still.
Full Article
The account of Zakariyya and Yahya عليهما السلام in the Qur’an
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
كهيعص ذِكْرُ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّكَ عَبْدَهُ زَكَرِيَّا إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ نِدَاءً خَفِيًّا قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنْ بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ مِنْ وَرَائِي وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا فَهَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا يَا زَكَرِيَّا إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَامٍ اسْمُهُ يَحْيَى لَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا قَالَ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا قَالَ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ لِي آيَةً قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا فَخَرَجَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ مِنَ الْمِحْرَابِ فَأَوْحَى إِلَيْهِمْ أَنْ سَبِّحُوا بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا يَا يَحْيَى خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا وَزَكَاةً وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّا وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا
“Kaaf Haa Yaa Ayn Saad. A reminder of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zakariyya, when he called upon his Lord with a secret call.
He said, ‘My Lord, truly my bones have grown weak and my head is filled with grey, yet I have never been, in calling upon You, my Lord, deprived. And truly I fear my heirs after me, and my wife is barren, so grant me from Yourself an heir. He will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Yaqub, and make him, my Lord, pleasing.’
‘Zakariyya, We give you good news of a boy whose name is Yahya. We have never before given this name to anyone.’
He said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a boy when my wife is barren and I have reached extreme old age?’
He said, ‘So it will be. Your Lord says, “It is easy for Me, and I created you before when you were nothing.”’
He said, ‘My Lord, make for me a sign.’ He said, ‘Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three nights although you are sound.’
So he came out to his people from the prayer niche and gestured to them to glorify their Lord morning and evening.
‘Yahya, take hold of the Book with strength.’ And We gave him wisdom while still a child, and tenderness from Us, and purity, and he was mindful of Allah, and dutiful to his parents, and he was not an arrogant rebel. Peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive.”
(Maryam 1–15)
فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنْبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِنْدَهَا رِزْقًا قَالَ يَا مَرْيَمُ أَنَّى لَكِ هَذَا قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاءِ فَنَادَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ يُصَلِّي فِي الْمِحْرَابِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكَ بِيَحْيَى مُصَدِّقًا بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَسَيِّدًا وَحَصُورًا وَنَبِيًّا مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَقَدْ بَلَغَنِيَ الْكِبَرُ وَامْرَأَتِي عَاقِرٌ قَالَ كَذَلِكَ اللَّهُ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاءُ قَالَ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ لِي آيَةً قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ إِلَّا رَمْزًا وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ كَثِيرًا وَسَبِّحْ بِالْعَشِيِّ وَالْإِبْكَارِ
“Her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good way, and He placed Zakariyya in charge of her care. Every time Zakariyya entered upon her in the prayer niche, he found provision with her. He said, ‘Maryam, how is this for you?’ She said, ‘It is from Allah. Truly Allah provides for whom He wills without reckoning.’
Thereupon Zakariyya called upon his Lord and said, ‘My Lord, grant me from Yourself good offspring. Truly You are the Hearer of supplication.’
Then the angels called out to him while he was standing in prayer in the prayer niche, ‘Allah gives you good news of Yahya, who will confirm a Word from Allah, and will be a leader, and chaste, and a Prophet from among the righteous.’
He said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a boy when old age has reached me and my wife is barren?’ He said, ‘So it will be. Allah does whatever He wills.’
He said, ‘My Lord, make for me a sign.’ He said, ‘Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three days except by gesture, and remember your Lord often, and glorify Him in the evening and at daybreak.’”
(Al Imran 37–41)
وَزَكَرِيَّا إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْنِي فَرْدًا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْوَارِثِينَ فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ يَحْيَى وَأَصْلَحْنَا لَهُ زَوْجَهُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ
“And Zakariyya, when he called upon his Lord, ‘My Lord, do not leave me alone, and You are the best of inheritors.’ So We answered him and granted him Yahya, and We set his wife right for him. Truly they used to hasten to good deeds, and they used to call upon Us in hope and fear, and they used to be humble before Us.” (Al Anbiya 89–90)
وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى وَإِلْيَاسَ كُلٌّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
“And Zakariyya, and Yahya, and Isa, and Ilyas, all of them are among the righteous.” (Al Anam 85)
The meaning is that Allah, exalted, commanded His Messenger ﷺ to relate to the people the story of Zakariyya عليه السلام and what happened in his case when Allah granted him a son in old age, while his wife was barren in the time of her youth and had then also grown old, so that no one would despair of the bounty and mercy of Allah or lose hope in His favour, exalted and sanctified.
Allah said about this:
ذِكْرُ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّكَ عَبْدَهُ زَكَرِيَّا إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ نِدَاءً خَفِيًّا
“This is a mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zakariyya, when he called upon his Lord with a secret call.” (Maryam 2–3)
Qatadah, in explaining this, said that Allah knows the pure heart and hears the quiet voice.(Reported by Tabari in Jami al Bayan 16/35 with a sound chain from him.)
Some of the early Muslims said that he stood at night and called upon his Lord with a call that he kept hidden from those who were present with him because he was in awe of Allah. He said, “My Lord, my Lord, my Lord,” so Allah said, “Here I am, here I am, here I am.”
He said,
رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي
“My Lord, truly my bones have grown weak within me,”
that is, they had become weak and feeble because of old age.
وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا
“and my head is filled with grey,”
this is a comparison to the kindling of fire in wood. The white hairs have overcome the blackness of the hair, just as Ibn Durayd said in his maqsurah poem:
أَمَا تَرَى رَأْسِي حَاكَى لَوْنُهُ طُرَّةَ
صُبْحٍ تَحْتَ أَذْيَالِ الدُّجَى
وَاشْتَعَلَ الْمُبَيَّضُ فِي مُسَوَّدِهِ
مِثْلَ اشْتِعَالِ النَّارِ فِي جَمْرِ الْغَضَا
وَآضَ عُودُ اللَّهْوِ يَابِسًا ذَاوِيًا
مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا كَانَ مِجَاجَ الثَّرَى
“Do you not see that my head, in its colour, resembles a forelock of morning beneath the edges of night,
and that the whitening has blazed in its blackness like the blazing of fire in coals of the ghada tree,
and that the stick of play has become dry and withered after it used to be like earth soaked with water.”
(The poem is from the maqsurah of Ibn Durayd. A maqsurah in poetry is that whose rhyme ends with an alif maqsurah. See the five line arrangement of Ibn Durayd’s maqsurah pages 31–33 and 37. The “forelock” mentioned is the forehead and the front of the hair.)
He is indicating that weakness has taken hold of him both inwardly and outwardly. Thus Zakariyya عليه السلام said,
إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا
“Truly my bones have grown weak within me and my head is filled with grey.”
And his saying,
وَلَمْ أَكُنْ بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا
“and I have never been, in calling upon You, my Lord, deprived,”
means, “You have not accustomed me, in what I ask of You, to anything but an answer.”
The reason that drove him to make this request is that when he took Maryam bint Imran into his care, every time he entered upon her in her prayer niche he found with her fruit that was not from its season and not from its usual time.
This was among the honours Allah gave to His close friends. So he understood that the One who provides a thing outside its season is able to grant him a child even if he has reached a very old age.
هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاءِ
“Thereupon Zakariyya called upon his Lord and said, ‘My Lord, grant me from Yourself good offspring. Truly You are the Hearer of supplication.’”
(Al Imran 38)
And His saying,
وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ مِنْ وَرَائِي وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا
“And truly I fear my heirs after me and my wife is barren,”
it is said that what is meant by “those who inherit” here are the relatives and clans. It is as if he feared what they might do after him among the children of Israil in ways that would not agree with the Sharia of Allah and obedience to Him, so he asked for a child from his own loins who would be dutiful, mindful and pleasing to Allah. For this he said,
فَهَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ
“So grant me from Yourself,”
that is, from Your presence, by Your power and strength,
وَلِيًّا يَرِثُنِي
“an heir who will inherit from me,”
meaning, in prophethood and in judgement among the children of Israil,
وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا
“and inherit from the family of Yaqub, and make him, my Lord, pleasing,”
meaning, “as his fathers and forefathers from the offspring of Yaqub were Prophets, so make him like them in the honour with which You honoured them of prophethood and revelation.”
The meaning here is not inheritance of money, as some from the Shia claimed, and Ibn Jarir inclined to that here and related it from Abu Salih among the early Muslims, for a number of reasons.
The first is what has already preceded at His saying,
وَوَرِثَ سُلَيْمَانُ دَاوُدَ
“And Sulayman inherited Dawud,”
This is an explicit text that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is not inherited from. For this reason Abu Bakr as Siddiq prevented that anything which had been specific to him ﷺ in his life should be given to any of his heirs, those who, were it not for this text, would have been entitled to it, and they were his daughter Fatimah, his nine wives and his uncle al Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them.
Abu Bakr used this hadith as his proof when he withheld it from them. Umar ibn al Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, al Abbas ibn Abd al Muttalib, Abd ar Rahman ibn Awf, Talhah, az Zubayr, Abu Hurayrah and others, may Allah be pleased with them, agreed with him in relating it from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The second reason is that at Tirmidhi related it with wording that includes all the Prophets, “We, the group of Prophets, are not inherited from.” and he declared it sound.
(The author of the commentary said that the original writer slipped here, for at Tirmidhi did not relate it at all with the wording “We”. It is not in the famous collections with this exact wording, nor in any of the Musnad works. Al Dhahabi said in Muwafaqat al Khabar al Khabar 1/481 that it is not in the well known collections.
Ibn Hajar said in Fath al Bari 8/12 that what has become well known in the works of the scholars of usul and others with the wording “We, the group of Prophets, are not inherited from” has been rejected by a group of the imams, and that is correct with respect to the specific wording “We”.
He then said in Muwafaqat al Khabar al Khabar 1/482 that the meaning is found with the wording “Truly we”, and that the two expressions carry the same meaning; so whoever mentioned the wording “We” likely expressed it by meaning. The wording “Truly we” was related by Nasa’i in as Sunan al Kubra 4/64 number 6309, and by Ahmad in his Musnad 1/172 and 2/463 from Abu Hurayrah with a sound chain and by others.)
The third reason is that this life was too small in the sight of the Prophets for them to amass it or turn to it or for its concerns to preoccupy them to the point that they would ask for children so that they could gather it after them.
Even those who do not reach anything like their rank in renouncing this life do not worry to this extent about seeking a child who will inherit their wealth.
The fourth is that Zakariyya عليه السلام used to be a carpenter who worked with his hands and ate from what he earned, just as Dawud عليه السلام used to eat from what his own hands earned.
The usual case for someone like this, especially with the state of the Prophets, is that he does not exhaust himself in work to such an extent that there remains a surplus of wealth that he keeps back as a store for himself and whoever might come after him. This is a clear and evident matter to anyone who thinks about it carefully.
The angels give Zakariyya glad tidings of Yahya عليهما السلام
Allah’s saying,
يَا زَكَرِيَّا إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَامٍ اسْمُهُ يَحْيَى لَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا
“Zakariyya, We give you good news of a boy whose name is Yahya. We have never before given this name to anyone,”
(Maryam 7)
is explained by His saying,
فَنَادَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ يُصَلِّي فِي الْمِحْرَابِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكَ بِيَحْيَى مُصَدِّقًا بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَسَيِّدًا وَحَصُورًا وَنَبِيًّا مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
“Then the angels called out to him while he was standing in prayer in the prayer niche, ‘Allah gives you good news of Yahya, who will confirm a Word from Allah, and will be a leader, and chaste, and a Prophet from among the righteous.’”
(Al Imran 39)
When he was given the good news of a child and the glad tidings were confirmed, he began to ask, in a tone of amazement, about the existence of a child for him in that situation:
قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا
“He said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a boy when my wife is barren and I have reached extreme old age?’” (Maryam 8)
That is, how can a child exist from an old man? It is said that his age at that time was seventy seven years, and what is more likely, and Allah knows best, is that he was even older than that.
“and my wife is barren,” meaning that in the time of her youth she had been barren and did not give birth, and Allah knows best.
This is like the saying of the Khalil Ibrahim عليه السلام,
قَالَ أَبَشَّرْتُمُونِي عَلَى أَنْ مَسَّنِيَ الْكِبَرُ فَبِمَ تُبَشِّرُونَ
“He said, ‘Do you give me good news although old age has touched me? So what is this that you give me good news of?’”
(Al Hijr 54)
and the saying of Sarah,
قَالَتْ يَا وَيْلَتَى أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَهَذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
“She said, ‘Alas for me, shall I give birth while I am an old woman and this husband of mine is an old man? This is truly a strange thing.’ They said, ‘Do you marvel at the command of Allah? The mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house. Truly He is Praiseworthy, Glorious.’” (Hud 72–73)
In the same way Zakariyya عليه السلام was answered. The angel who brought revelation to him by the command of his Lord said,
قَالَ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا
“He said, ‘So it will be. Your Lord says, “It is easy for Me, and I created you before when you were nothing.”’
That is, His power brought you into existence after you were nothing that could be mentioned, so will He not bring forth from you a child, even if you are an old man?
And Allah, exalted, said,
فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ يَحْيَى وَأَصْلَحْنَا لَهُ زَوْجَهُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ
“So We answered him and granted him Yahya, and We set his wife right for him. Truly they used to hasten to good deeds and they used to call upon Us in hope and fear, and they used to be humble before Us.” (Al Anbiya 90)
The meaning of “We set his wife right for him” is that she had not been menstruating and then she began to menstruate.
He said,
رَبِّ اجْعَلْ لِي آيَةً
“My Lord, make for me a sign,” (Maryam 10)
meaning, a sign for the time at which his wife would conceive with this child that he was promised.
قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا
“He said, ‘Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three nights although you are sound’”
(Maryam 10)
that is, the sign for that is that a silence will overtake you so that you are unable to speak for three days except by gesture, while in that state you are sound in body, healthy in constitution and balanced in form. He was ordered, in this condition, to engage much in remembrance of Allah with his heart and to keep that present in his mind in the evening and at daybreak.
When he was given that good news, he came out, happy with it, to his people from his prayer niche,
فَأَوْحَى إِلَيْهِمْ أَنْ سَبِّحُوا بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا
“and he gestured to them to glorify their Lord morning and evening.”
The “revelation” here is an instruction that is hidden, either by writing or by gesture.
And His saying,
يَا يَحْيَى خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا
“Yahya, take hold of the Book with strength, and We gave him wisdom as a child” (Maryam 12)
means that Allah, exalted, informs us of the arrival of the child in accordance with the divine glad tidings to his father Zakariyya عليه السلام and that Allah taught him the Book and wisdom while he was small, in the state of childhood.
As for His saying,
وَحَنَانًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا
“and tenderness from Us,” (Maryam 13)
Ibn Jarir related from Ikrimah, Qatadah and ad Dahhak that “tenderness from Us” means mercy from Us, by which We had mercy on Zakariyya and granted him this child. (Reported by Tabari 16/43 with sound chains from them.)
And “purity” is the purity of character and its safety from faults and base traits, and “mindfulness” is obeying Allah by fulfilling His commands and leaving His prohibitions.
Then He mentioned his dutifulness to his parents, his obedience to them in what they ordered and forbade, and his avoidance of undutifulness to them in word and deed. He said,
وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّا
“and dutiful to his parents, and he was not an arrogant rebel,” (Maryam 14)
then He said,
وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا
“and peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive.” (Maryam 15)
These three times are when a human being experiences the greatest difficulty, for in each of them he moves from one realm to another. He leaves the first after he had become familiar with it and known it, and he comes to the second and does not know what lies ahead of him.
For this reason the newborn begins life crying when he comes out from between the womb and leaves its softness and its closeness, and passes into this abode to face its worries and its sorrows.
Likewise, when he leaves this abode and moves to the realm of the barrier between this life and the abode of settlement, leaving behind mansions and palaces for the open ground of the dead, the dwellers of graves, and waits there for the blowing of the trumpet for the day of resurrection and rising.
Among them are those who are joyful and those who are distressed, those who are grieved and those who are ruined, those who are whole and those who are broken, a group in the Garden and a group in the Blaze.
One of the poets expressed this well when he said:
وَلَدَتْكَ أُمُّكَ بَاكِيًا مُسْتَصْرِخًا
وَالنَّاسُ حَوْلَكَ يَضْحَكُونَ سُرُورًا
فَاعْمَلْ لِنَفْسِكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ إِذَا بَكَوْا
فِي يَوْمِ مَوْتِكَ ضَاحِكًا مَسْرُورًا
“Your mother gave birth to you crying, seeking help,
while the people around you were laughing with joy,
so strive for yourself so that, when they weep
on the day of your death, you are laughing, joyful.”
Because these three situations are the hardest moments for each child of Adam, Allah sent peace upon Yahya in every one of them and said,
وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا
“and peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive.”
And in the other verse He said,
وَسَيِّدًا وَحَصُورًا وَنَبِيًّا مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
“and a leader, and chaste, and a Prophet from among the righteous.” (Al Imran 39)
It has been said that “chaste” here means one who does not go near women. Others said that it means something else, and this second meaning is closer, because of his supplication,
هَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً
“Grant me from Yourself good offspring.” (Al Imran 38)
Imam Ahmad related from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There is no one from the children of Adam except that he has erred or intended a sin, except for Yahya ibn Zakariyya, and it is not fitting for anyone to say, ‘I am better than Yunus ibn Matta.’” (Reported by Ahmad and others; see Silsilat al Ahadith as Sahihah 6/1208–1209.)
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al As related that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “Every child of Adam will come on the day of rising with some sin, except for what was from Yahya ibn Zakariyya.” (Reported by Ahmad 4/130 and 4/202, at Tayalisi numbers 1161 and 1162, at Tirmidhi 2863 and 2864, an Nasa’i in al Kubra, Abu Ya‘la 1571, at Tabarani 3427–3431, Ibn Khuzaymah 483, 930 and 1895 with supporting routes.)
From the virtues of Yahya عليه السلام
Imam Ahmad also related from al Harith al Ashari that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah commanded Yahya ibn Zakariyya with five words, that he should act by them himself and command the children of Israil to act by them, and he almost delayed.
Isa عليه السلام said to him, ‘You have been commanded with five words, to act by them and to command the children of Israil to act by them. Either you convey them or I will convey them.’ He said, ‘My brother, I fear that if you precede me with them I will be punished or the earth will swallow me.’
“So he gathered the children of Israil in Bayt al Maqdis until the mosque was full, and he sat upon a balcony and praised Allah and glorified Him, then said, ‘Allah, mighty and majestic, has commanded me with five words that I should act by them and that I should command you to act by them.
“The first of them is that you worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him. The likeness of this is that of a man who bought a slave from his own pure wealth of silver or gold. The slave began to work and to give his earnings to someone other than his master. Which of you would like his slave to be like that? Allah created you and provided for you, so worship Him and do not associate anything with Him.
“And He commands you with the prayer. Allah turns His face towards His servant as long as he does not turn away, so when you pray do not turn away.
“And He commands you with fasting. The likeness of this is that of a man who has with him a small bag of musk in a group of people, all of them find its fragrance. The breath of the one who fasts is more pleasant with Allah than the smell of musk.
“And He commands you with charity. The likeness of this is that of a man whom the enemy captured and bound his hands to his neck and brought him forward to strike his neck. He said, “Can I ransom myself from you?” So he kept ransoming himself from them with a little and a lot until he freed himself.
“And He commands you with much remembrance of Allah, mighty and majestic. The likeness of this is that of a man who the enemy hastily pursued, and he came to a strong fortress and protected himself in it. The servant is most protected from Shaytan when he is in the remembrance of Allah, mighty and majestic.’
“And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘And I also command you with five things with which Allah has commanded me: the group, listening and obeying, migration and striving in the path of Allah. Whoever splits away from the group by a handspan has removed the rope of Islam from his neck, unless he returns.
Whoever calls with the call of the days of ignorance is from the heaps of Jahannam.’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, even if he prays and fasts?’ He said, ‘Even if he prays and fasts and thinks that he is a Muslim. Call the Muslims with the names by which Allah has named them, the Muslims, the believers, the servants of Allah, mighty and majestic.’” (The word “rope” here is “ribqah”, the loop of a rope. “Its stones” in the other part of the hadith refers to the stones of Jahannam. The hadith was related by Ahmad 1/295, 1/301, 1/320 and 1/345, Ibn Abi Shaybah in al Musannaf 11/562 number 11985, Abu Ya‘la 4/418 number 2544, at Tabarani in al Mu‘jam al Kabir 12/167 number 12933, al Bazzar 3/108 number 2358, al Hakim 2/591, al Bayhaqi 10/186 and Ibn Asakir in his Tarikh 18/93. Its chain contains Ali ibn Zayd ibn Judan who is weak, but the hadith has other routes and supporting narrations which al Albani gathered and analysed in detail, and he graded it authentic in as Silsilah as Sahihah 6/2984.)
Clarifying the reason for the killing of Yahya عليه السلام
They mentioned several reasons for his killing. The most well known is that one of the kings of that time in Damascus wanted to marry one of his own close relatives, or a woman for whom marriage to him was not lawful. Yahya عليه السلام forbade him from that. A grudge remained in her heart against him.
When there was between her and the king whatever he desired from her, she asked him as a gift to her for the blood of Yahya. So he granted it to her.
She sent someone to kill him, and his head and blood were brought to her in a bowl. It is said that she died immediately at that very moment.
Then the scholars differed about whether the killing of Yahya ibn Zakariyya took place in the Sacred Mosque in Jerusalem or elsewhere. There are two sayings.
Ath Thawri related from al A‘mash, from Shamir ibn Atiyyah, that he said, “On the rock which is in Bayt al Maqdis seventy Prophets were killed, among them Yahya ibn Zakariyya عليه السلام.”
Abu Ubayd al Qasim ibn Sallam related from Said ibn al Musayyib that he said, “Bukhtansar came to Damascus and he saw the blood of Yahya ibn Zakariyya boiling. He asked about it and they informed him, so he killed seventy thousand people over that blood, and then it became still.” (This chain is sahih up to Said ibn al Musayyib and indicates that Yahya was killed in Damascus. Ibn Asakir also related it from his route in Tarikh Dimashq 18/105, and he followed it with the same source.)
